Trapped in a snakeskin suit
by Scorpina
Summary: "I did try to warn you... but I got to say this is funny as hell!" Garou's infamous words to a certain hero, perhaps next time, he will learn to listen...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was December

Things have settled for the most part in Garou's house, but it was time to focus on Christmas. With Melee's brothers back, they were begging for a good ol' fashion Brawler family Christmas. Which meant a lot of food, some beer and family fun. Garou was already wondering if having the brothers around was a good idea, he didn't quite know what to make of them anymore, after all he never had siblings himself!

He wondered into the kitchen, searching about for a snack or so, despite the fact it won't do him any good, he still likes to nosh on things that have good flavour. As he rummaged through the fridge he decided against it. There wasn't much to eat anyways and knowing him he could clear it out. With that decided he went to the kitchen table and helped himself to some tea.

As he began to think over what to do, he jumped when he heard a shriek come from Snek's room! "EEEEEEKKKKK HHHEEEELLLPPPP! MONSTER! MONSTER IS WEARING PAPA!"

Garou froze. "What the hell is going on?" he muttered. Yet as he went to investigate, the four slithered out of the room and were quick to hide behind Garou. They grabbed hold of his leg and started to cry. "Whoa, hey! What's going on?"

Bo, Conna and Angie were snivelling, barely any coherent words came out of them as Garou tried to understand. "Monster… papa… and face…" they stammered to say. Then they clenched on to his legs and wept.

"Huh?" Garou muttered.

"Monster! Monster skinned papa!" cried Pythan.

That he understood.

Peering around the corner as best he could without disrupting the kids, Garou saw someone flailing in Snek's room. Then, he stumbled out, nearly tripping over himself. "No, no, it's me! I swear. I AM PAPA!" Snek emerged from his room but was human once more! He appeared confused and dazed to it all. "Garou…"

But only a smirk came over him. "You never agreed on a time to switch did you?" he snickered. Snek's was about to answer him until his phone went off.

"You got…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS AND AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME!" Snek had to keep the phone away from his face as he was getting a verbal chewing out by Amai Mask.

"Ooo, I can hear him from over here!" Garou laughed.

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY! I WAS IN MY HOTEL TAKING A SHOWER WHEN I TURNED AND ENDED UP GOING THROUGH THE FLOOR!"

At that point no one could contain their laughter, not even Snek. Garou however motioned for the phone. "Amai… you remember when I told you to consider your wording VERY carefully when you wanted to do this?" he asked.

"What of it?" Amai said with a snarl in his voice.

"Well, you said to me, I want to take a month from Snek once a year to become the serpent… when I said that, if something was not agreed upon in that year, you automatically turn in the last month of said year to keep your promise…"

"This isn't helping me… I have three interviews to do, another album to work on and a movie scheduled for production next week!"

"Next time, choose your words more carefully. We'll get your room ready." With that Garou hung up on him and tossed the phone back to Snek.

He was worried though. The four kids stared at him fearfully. "He skinned Papa…" muttered Bo.

Garou rolled his eyes as he leaned down and picked up the four. "No, Papa was always like this." He explained gently. "Papa was human before he became a serpent."

"Then change back!" Pythan demanded. "We want papa back!"

Snek sighed to it all. "I will change back in one month… one month okay?"

The kids shook their head. "No! NOW!" they demanded.

"Garou can't you do something?"

"Never thought I would see the day that you prefer to be a serpent than your normal self…" muttered Garou.

"They never knew I was human to begin with, and I suddenly change on them!" For the rest of the morning, Snek's kids pouted. There wasn't a smile to be found or word spoke to their father.

They were pissed to say the least!

Melee tried to help the moment she woke up, but the kids were not having any of it. "Oh my they are pouty little ones aren't they?" she asked.

Garou snickered. "Wait until you hear what happened to Amai!"

Melee decided to get some breakfast made. Garou tried to cheer up the kids but had little success. He would bring out the big guns eventually with the Triplets the moment they wake up. Snek on the other hand was at a loss. He sat at the kitchen table, hanging over his coffee like a sad drunk. "I should have told them…" he said.

"They are still young, do you think they would have understood?" asked Melee.

"I dunno." Snek muttered. "I just think I should have done something more to explain this whole situation…"

Garou sighed as he went to pick up Snek's kids in attempts once more to break them out of their little rut. Just as he did, he sensed something barrelling towards the house.

The front door burst open. "BABY BRO!" shouted Knuckle.

His sudden entrance made Snek's kids jump and coil around him for dear life in shock! "Brawlers… Knock you meathead!"

Street followed in and rolled his eyes. "Knuckle isn't known for his door knocking skills to say the least…" But then the Brawlers took notice of Snek's kids being pouty. "What's with them?" Yet froze when they saw Snek human once more.

"Dude… DUDE!" Knuckle said with great excitement. "Since when!?"

"Oh right, you don't know about this. In one of his more generous moments, Amai got a taste of humble pie and made an agreement with Snek. Garou has this really strong soothsaying power, so he was able to bind the two in an odd spell. Once a year, Amai turns into a serpent, Snek is rendered Human for a month… problem was they didn't agree on a month or time… so it automatically happens at the end of the year if the change has not been done in that time frame."

Knuckle looked like he was going to laugh until it hurts. "Really!"

"Wait until what you hear what happened to him this morning!" Garou said with a devious grin.

"First thing's first, we got to get this kids smiling." Said Street.

"Did you play tissue yet?" asked Knuckle.

The room froze. "What the hell is that?!" demanded Garou.

Knuckle kept silent as he gestured merely 'watch and learn' to Garou. He did a fake sneeze aloud until he picked one of Snek's kids off of Garou. From there he pretended to blow his nose right into the stomach, when in reality he was just blowing raspberries on his belly. The once pouty face began a full out giggle and laugh. Then again, when Knuckles blows a raspberry on the kid's belly, the whole body giggles!

"One done, three to go!" he announced.

When he did it to all four, they were giggling and smiling again, that and they demanded more. "How the hell did you know what would work?" Garou questioned.

"Easy, we did that to Melee all the time when she was younger!"

Suddenly an evil look came over Garou. "Really? She's ticklish?"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" she warned.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It wasn't a good morning for Amai to say the least.

It all happened just a little before midnight he was still tried from the night's movie shoot. A quick shower would be needed to freshen up before bed. He just stripped himself naked, the water was perfect as he slipped in. He was halfway through washing his hair when he felt it. It was like a punch to his core, and the sensation was spreading.

"What… the hell…" his eyes began to blur, yet he stared down at his free hand as the other braced him up. As his vision faded in and out, he saw the flesh alter. Then, the scales began to appear! "What… NO!" he protested. He just got the water turned off when the panic set in.

He tried to get himself out of the shower when his legs went numb. "NO! NOT NOW, NOT NOW!" he screamed. Between the steam and his vision fading, Amai began to transform but couldn't see what part of him had changed. When he was able to move again he tried to get to the door, but there was instant trouble. His serpent form had overtaken the whole bathroom! "Damn it!" he cursed, but the matter only grew worst.

The floor began to moan!

Panic instantly set in as he knew what the sound meant. It was sinking! "Oh God, please… hold… please… hold…" he said as he tried to keep himself calm. He stood perfectly still, in hopes he wouldn't fall through. At the same time he sifted about himself to reach his cellphone he left on the sink, just in case a call came through. However he was so massive, his body was all over the place.

Lady luck would smile upon him as he set his phone to vibrate earlier. He felt the tremor and was able to reach his phone. Yet as he did, their came an eerie moan from the floor. With his phone in hand he tried to make a call, until he heard it once more…

The floor moaned and creaked, the dip began to do deeper until…

CRASH!

In midst of debris and bathroom fixtures, Amai was out for a little while until he regain himself. When he did though, it wasn't a pleasant sight.

It was chaos to say the least as Amai fell through the bathroom floor and into another hotel room… right as a couple was sleeping… celebrating their engagement. The woman's scream was enough to make his flesh crawl, but the scream of terror then became one of excitement.

"AMAI MASK!?"

Despite the hotel room flooding with water, he tried to smile it off. "I do apologize for… dropping in the say the least…"

"What the hell are you doing in our hotel!" the boyfriend demanded.

"As I said, accidently dropped in… congratulations appear to be in order. Lovely banner."

'Merry Me Alison?' was strung over the bed, but then it gave him an idea. He could play this off rather well if they take the agreement. He was quick to spread himself out to prevent the floor from giving way once more.

"I am so sorry for intruding like this… I'll sing at your wedding!"

By the time he made the offer, the hotel staff was quick to investigate the noise. When they realized what had happened, they assured Amai that it was no harm done. "Minor damage, we should have taken precautions… in the mean time could I trouble you to go out into the hall so the incident does not repeat?" the manager asked.

He gladly obliged, despite the fact he barely fit through the door! Amai had to contort and push himself through the narrow gab before he carefully slinked into the hallway. He took up the whole hall to say the least and sighed. "This is not going to assist my image the least bit, worst of all how on earth do I get out of here?" he muttered. In that time he called Snek and made certain he knew he was pissed off to say the least. However Garou laughed at the incident and claimed he should have known better.

The hotel manager came to him and asked aloud "How do we get you out of here?" He was too big for the fire escape, elevator, hell, he couldn't even fit in the stairwell! There was little choice.

He took his phone and made a call. "Alley? Amai here… I need help…"

#

It was embarrassing.

Alley was quick to arrive and see the situation. The hotel guests were getting restless to leave their rooms, but couldn't because he was blocking up the doorways. The hotel manager and staff did all they could to calm the residence until the elevator door opened. He was able to turn far enough to see who appeared, and he was relieved to say the least.

Alley arrived!

"This can't be comfortable for you…" were the first words out of her. She managed to hover just over him to get around to the other side to properly face him. "You okay?" she asked.

He forced a smile, it was cute of her to see if he was fine. "Embarrassed to say the least, but please, get me out of here as soon as possible." He pleaded.

She nodded her head and began to inspect the floor. Alley did a quick observation before nodding on a plan. "Okay, I got it. I'm blowing out a wall temporarily!" she announced.

"Wait what?!" the manager demanded.

With her esper power, she was about to remove the brick straight ahead of her, making a nice large opening and yet also kept the wall stable. "Amai, ready?" she asked.

He nodded as she lifted him from the ground. Her talents have greatly improved to say the least as he floated out and brought down to the street below. She left through the same hole yet put all the bricks back into place and repaired the damage done. Amai sighed with relief. "Thank you for that…" he began to teeter. The winter air began to knock him out.

"Oh shit, it's too cold… hold on!"

He passed out before long, yet woke again at the Association. He was coiled up on a heated bed with a blanket overtop. As he came too, he shook his mind clear before letting out a sigh of anger. "I did not anticipate this the least bit…" he muttered lowly.

Alley soon came into the room with a hot cup of coffee. "You feeling okay?"

He graciously took the drink. "I will be with this is over… why didn't your father warn me of this!" he muttered.

"Uh…" Alley said as her voice trailed off.

Amai glared at her. "You mean to tell me he has!?"

"I was there when you had him say it. He said make sure you word this very carefully, when he said back what you said, and you agreed to it…" she said but paused. "Not to mention didn't dad keep asking you. 'When are you and Snek gonna change?' sort of a hint, hint, nudge, nudge." She said. "Also, this was a little fail safe too, in case you said you would do something like this, but suddenly changed your mind."

"This is partly Snek's fault too!" he protested.

"Snek didn't know about this little fail safe, also considering what he has been through as of late, it would be understandable for him had he known and still didn't switch with you." She protested. "Anyway, I already fixed the damage done at the hotel, I paid for the couple's trip and have their contact information so you can fulfill your promise to them…"

Amai moped to say the least. "This is quite inconvenient for me…" he paused. "My cell phone, my luggage!"

"I got it when you were asleep too."

"Thank you… may I have my cellphone? I need to make a few calls…"

#

He spent the rest of the morning on the phone, trying to explain the situation at hand. He would still go for the interviews that he had planned yet warned of his drastic appearance change. However, no one appeared to mind, in fact, they were thrilled with the notion! "Ooo, we get to interview the Blue Serpent!? This is wonderful!"

"I do need to remind you the floor needs to be double reinforced… needless to say, I have put on some weight…" he warned.

"We will ensure that sir, and your comfort!" When Amai hung up, a part of him cringed, people were FAR too kind when he is a blue serpent. He worries it is out of pity to say the least.

Slinking through the association he now needed help getting there. Looking about, he found the children of Garou, Max and Suiryu getting ready for today's training.

"Hunter, you got Atomic's crew in one hour. Goliath, Fubuki. Draven is with Zombieman. The triplets will be by later today. Max, Suiryu, keep to your schedule that you have planned today. I will be with Genus in the lab, we are training some heroes who are interested in using science for monster battles…" Alley explained, however paused as Amai approached. Alley caught a glimpse of him over her shoulder. "Hey…" she said.

He was embarrassed. "I… have interviews to do today… I need help to get to them…"

"You need a chauffer huh?" asked Goliath.

"Yes…" he said begrudgingly. "I will pay for your assistance…"

"Nah, if anything this is going to be good training. I got this, I'll be training Fubuki today so you are going to assist in that!"

"Assist?" he whispered. "How could I possibly…"

"Besides, I got something for you to test for me too!" announced Alley. "Okay, everyone divide and conquer!" Alley announced as she led Amai down the hall by the arm. He wasn't too sure what was going on, however he was quick to find out the moment he entered the lab. Alley rushed to a table and took a rather large jar off of it.

"Alley…" he said with great uncertainty.

"It's to help with the cold! The jacket I made you only gets the upper body, I learned from Snek's feedback he still gets a chill, so I made this!"

"What is…"

Without warning she began dumping the contests down along his back! Amai cringed as it glided down his scales and over his body. "What on earth are you doing!" he demanded. "What is this?"

"Relax, it's to help retain heat and protect you from the cold!" she protested. "Yeesh Amai, you know by now I am trying to help you right?"

He sneered as the gloop she put on went from his 'waist' down. Odd thing was, she wasn't smearing it on… it moved on it's own! "Alley…" he said with great uncertainty.

"New testing I am making, like the slime that makes my Uncle's skin on their cyborg bodies. This one ensures it covers the whole area needed." She said.

"You are not making matters any easier for me to contend with!" he protested.

Yet no sooner did she place the substance on him, did Amai really see what it did. It was as if it vanished. "What…"

"It's absorbed into your scales, once you hit the cold it will be clear as day…"

"I did not agree to this!" he protested.

"Sorry for trying to ensure you stay warm!" she snapped back.

He glared at her, Alley then went to the back corner of the room. She took out his luggage. "Your jacket in here?" she asked. He nodded. "Well I am not going to go through your stuff, get your jacket, no doubt Goliath and Fubuki are waiting for you by now…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"We're doing what today?" Fubuki demanded.

Goliath smirked as he explained part of her training this morning, when he said they were escorting Amai around the cities. Her look didn't change as she stared at him oddly enough, she knew there was something afoot. "What aren't you telling me here?" she questioned as her arms crossed.

Goliath's grin only grew as he pointed behind her.

She turned and saw him slinking down the hallway!

"Oh…" she muttered.

Amai wasn't the least bit thrilled to his appearance. "Let's make this quick and get this over with…" he paused as he glared at Fubuki. "Don't drop me!" he warned.

"Wait, what?" she demanded.

"Amai could take the drone to appearances however parking is a bitch to say the least. So today, we are going to be transporting him. You will be esper lifting him and yourself to various locations… think of this as telepathic weight lifting." he explained.

"As I said, don't drop me" he warned once more.

"I'll be coming along with you, I'll be certain you don't fall, Amai. Now, where's your first interview?"

#

They had to take him to City C.

The distance was quite a ways, and Fubuki doesn't quite fly as well as her sister does. Amai was heavy too. She struggled quite a bit, and his banter didn't help matters. "Will you stay consistent!" he demanded. "I can feel you lose your grip!"

"Not helping!" she protested.

There were times where Amai dipped too low in the sky, Goliath sighed as he took over. "I got him, focus on keeping yourself afloat." He insisted.

She did that, Amai was more relaxed as Goliath took command. When they arrived, he cringed as he saw the mass of people. Yet as he landed, the fans were loud and cheering him despite his sudden appearance change. Goliath smirked as he always remembered when Snek was about he would gently remind the masses that Amai wore no clothing in his serpent form.

A naked Amai Mask was a fan girl's dream!

They followed him inside as the studio made arrangements to have the interviews done on the first floor. They really decked out the place to say the least to ensure the comfort of their idol. Goliath and Fubuki hung back and watched on, she wasn't impressed with todays lesson to say the least. "I feel used," she muttered to him.

"Again, think of this as training. He's not easy to deal with I know, but consider the practise you are getting in today. You have gotten stronger, Amai is not easy to lift!" he said.

The interview was done quickly, yet Amai was laughing off the notion that he was going to be doing a movie as the blue serpent. "Did you know fans have petitioned the studios to make a movie with you like this?" the host asked. "A sort of Beauty and the beast idea!"

He gently laughed off the notion. "It was part of the agreement I had with the M Class Dragons at the time, no media, no TV appearances… granted I am breaking that now, but it is due to the situation I am currently in. This was rather… unexpected to say the least." He said.

The interview was done, Amai was quick to slither by Goliath and Fubuki. "City D." he said below his breath.

"Again, used…" muttered Fubuki.

"Again, training. You lift him off the ground, I'll take over from there. Esper weight lifting, got it?" he said.

She reluctantly agreed. Amai stood at the ready as Fubuki put all her effort into lifting Amai from the ground. When he was up, Goliath took over. From there she would fly on her own, but she was even having trouble with that. She can go so long with so much before her powers start to fade. They were halfway to city D when Fubuki lost focus. She began to drop out of the sky! Goliath paused and quickly caught her himself and brought her back up. She was embarrassed to say the least.

Amai snickered though. "You are no Tatsumaki!" he said with a grin.

Suddenly he dropped out of the sky!

"Goliath!" Fubuki shouted, but he was quick to catch him before he fell too far. Amai appeared scared to death in a sense to what Goliath did, and he knew it too, it was on purpose.

There came a glare over the young son of Garou. "Simple warning Amai… know who is driving here… got it?" he said slowly and in a very scary calm voice. He only got a nod from Amai before they moved on.

City D, they landed and were asked to meet up on the roof for the interview. There was no place big enough to conduct it inside the studio and have since decorated the roof. With a nod, the three went to the top of the studio were a lavishing set was made and built. Once more Goliath and Fubuki kept off to the side. Despite the cold, Amai endured as did the staff. The winds were of no help to say the least, so with a roll of his eyes, Goliath managed to esper block it. People froze as it grew very still and silent in a sense. Yet Amai insisted they move along with the interview. He was on a tight schedule.

The two watched on, yet Goliath caught Fubuki peering at him from the corner of her eye. She was oddly silent until she cleared her voice abruptly. "Thank you for that…" she whispered.

He nodded. "You're still learning, I am not going to have him walk all over you for your efforts. He ought to respect the fact that we're helping him, and should be grateful for it."

There were laughs and snickers as Amai did his meeting. The host was kind and kept away from the obvious questions. When finished the host graciously thank him for his time and hoped to have him back soon.

Two down.

He approached the two once more. "City Y" he said.

Goliath nodded as this time he lifted Amai and Fubuki off the ground. As they flew, Fubuki began to ask questions. "How can you do this so easily? My sister and I were born with these powers and were tested upon to use them. I mean… Goliath you aren't that old to begin with…"

He laughed. "With the shit my family goes through, I had no choice but to learn fast. We all did. The esper power was one I was most fascinated with. Since I saw and learned what you and Tatsumaki could do, I figured I should be able to do it just as well. When I was younger and just getting a taste of it, I went outside and lifted small things at first. Sticks, rocks, a glass of water, a spoon when I ate breakfast. Then it became stronger and stronger with the more I lifted. But I found the more I read and learned, the bigger the power became since I was broadening my mind as well."

She paused to the discovery. "Broadening your mind?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I mean I didn't see something and considered it to be true. I research and ensured what I read was true. I questioned things, I learned and broadened my perspective. It made my strength grow as I did."

"We're here" called Amai.

Even at a few thousand feet, he could tell which city was which. They went in for their landing, as Amai went to his third interview of the day…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was cute and sad all at once.

Melee watched on as Snek went to change. He took a hot shower, yet as he did, she peered into his room and saw it. His children were cuddled into his snake skin suit whimpering over 'Papa'. They still didn't believe the human Snek was really their father!

"Papa…" cried Pythan.

Melee came into the room, the four hissed at her as they clenched on to the suit. "PAPA!" they roared at her.

"Take it easy, I know this is scary for you, but you need to know the truth. Do you want to know the truth?" she asked gently.

The four peered at each other until Pythan nodded. Despite their age, the kids appeared like ten year olds, nearly as old as Drax when he first became a serpent but not quite. "Come with me."

They reluctantly left the room, yet all the while they dragged the snakeskin suit with them for comfort. The boys each grabbed hold of a pant leg and dragged it along as the girl kept the jacket over their shoulders and followed. Street and Knuckle just finished setting up. "Ready?" she asked.

Street nodded. His right hand went up and the holographic projector turned on. "Biting Snake Fist Snek." He announced.

Suddenly old videos would appear of Snek, one from a martial arts tournament years ago, in fact, it was back when the monsters association attacked. This was one of the fights he was in, and he cleaned the floor with his opponent! The kids paused and stared as the video went on. When it ended they still weren't convinced.

"Not Papa!" protested Pythan.

Melee sighed, she figured it would come to this. With a nod to Knuckle he raised his right hand, it was the tournament where he was turned into a serpent. There was security footage of that event, and for the first time, the kids saw what happened to him. He was in his snakeskin suit when he suddenly fell over in pain. It was shortly after Alley gave him the prototype cure when the changes began. Pythan froze as he slithered a little closer, seeing his father turning in a serpent. His hands were the first to become scaly. Then, he saw his legs meld and become a long serpent tail. The suit became skin tight as the scales continued to spread over his body. The video stopped as the four froze.  
"Papa?" whispered Pythan.

"I wanted to tell you…"

The four turned as Snek stood there in warmer clothing. He knelt down before the four with a sigh. "I didn't know how I could. I'm sorry…" he said.

They were confused and yet, in a sense, Melee felt as if they understood too. Pythan appeared to be the team leader in all of this, he released the pant leg as he approached Snek. "It's true?" he asked.

Snek nodded his head as he sat on the ground with them. "Yes, this is the real me. I was born human and was turned into a snake…"

"Then… why are we like this? Can we turn human too? Do we have a mom?"

Melee froze, they were asking the big questions now!

Snek gulped his pride and nodded. "You did have a mom." He said gently. "She died before she could meet you" he paused. "As for being human, as of now, no. You can't. Not even I can for long periods of time, this is very temporary for me."

The four paused as they tried to understand what was said to them. "Mom got sick?" asked Angie.

Snek shook his head. "No, she got very hurt." He explained. "She couldn't heal from her wound and passed away."

"Oh…" the four said sombrely. "But, we still have papa?" asked Bo.

He smiled. "Yes, you still have papa, I prefer dad if you don't mind."

Their young minds appeared to be at ease now. "Can we go outside?" asked Conna.

"God no!" he protested. "It's really cold out there, you would freeze!"

"Uh… Snek… Alley didn't tell you about the latest thing she made… did she?" Melee asked with a grin. They were too young to be given the warming slime, however, Alley had another contingency plan for such an event! However, Snek was already suspicious.

"What… did she make?" he asked.

Melee only smirked as Street and Knuckle were snickering. "We've been waiting for you to try it on!" laughed Street.

"Yeah, and your kids are hungry." Snickered Knuckle.

#

'You got to be kidding me Alley, seriously? You anticipated even this!?' Snek thought to himself.

"Papa, where are we going?

"Papa is warm! Papa is never warm!"

"Papa, why is it cold?"

"Papa aren't you cold?"

The sight wasn't as savoury either as Snek walked down the street. People began to stop and stare like they use to when he first became a serpent. However this time around, it was because of the big bulky looking jacket he was wearing… and how it was moving about. The kids wouldn't settle, they were slithered around him in circles taking turns peering out from the little gap they had for air to get in yet keep the cold air out.

"Ooo there's white stuff!" said Pythan. "What's the white stuff?"

"Snow," said Snek. "It's frozen water, but fluffy."

"Snow? Can we play in snow?"

"When you are older Angie, right now you are too small and it's too cold."

Their movements were getting more aggressive as the jacket began to bulge out every which way, making the people stop and stare even more. "What are you looking at!" Snek snapped at them. The people were quick to move along. "Perhaps I should have taken the Brawlers up on their offer."

It was just after Melee showed him the large winter jacket that went down to his backside. It was wide and spacious. "Uh… thanks? But don't you think this is more for Goliath or even your brothers?" he asked.

The Brawlers snickered. "Nah man, it's so you got enough room for them! They ain't strong enough to be out in the cold like this! You know that, this is big enough to hold them. It even has an elastic bottom so they don't drop out of the jacket! That or we can hold them… but I don't think they are quite use to us yet," said Street.

"How could you hold them?" he demanded.

The Brawler smirked as they revealed their slime could open up, in the chest area there was their power core, which doubled as a heater. They could keep them warm and contained under their own skins. "You think they would go for it?" asked Knuckle.

The more Snek thought about it the more he realized he was better to carry them. "I think I better handle them." He said. "Besides, they are my kids,"

He has lived to regret those words!

"Papa, I'm hungry!" chimed Pythan. "We're all hungry"

"I know bud, but I got to find something suitable for the four of you to eat. There's not a heck of a lot in the cold weather. You're a little too small for some of the prey I got in mind…"

He suddenly froze, Snek felt the ground tremble under foot, which brought the four to peer out of his jacket all at once! "Monster…" whispered Bo. "Big Monster!"

"It's near by," said Angie.

"Too big to eat…" sighed Pythan.

The ground continued to tremble. Snek knew he had to act. "We're going to take it down before someone gets hurt. You ready?" he asked.

Despite how young they were, they were eager to help and join the fight. "We're going to help papa hunt! We're going to help Papa hunt!" they cheered.

'Here's hoping I don't get my ass kicked…' Snek thought to himself.

He wasn't too concerned for himself, but his kids were a whole different story to say the least. If he gets knocked out, he may accidently land on them! But, then an idea came about. The jacket had a built in heater thanks to Alley. "You four are going to stay in the jacket got it!" he ordered as he began to take it off.

"PAPA!" they protested.

"No buts! Stay there where it's warm…" the ground shook and trembled as a behemoth monster appeared! People were quick to run for their lives as the beast tried to grab and smash anything within its grasp. Snek stood at the ready. 'I can bide time, that's the best I can do in my human state…' he thought.

"HEY UGLY!" he shouted.

The monster froze as its sights set on Snek. "Wanna dance?"

The monster snickered. It's voice nothing more than a low growl, but words became coherent. "Snek… the monster who defeats you will get the praise of all! You've killed and eaten many of my brethren!"

"They weren't tasty to say the least. You gonna fight or what!"

The monster smirked as it's sight came solely on Snek. Despite its size, it was fast. Snek avoided its first blow, a quick back flip allowed him to dodge it easily. Yet as he landed on his feet, a firm backhand came at him, he couldn't block or dodge it in time and was smacked into the wall.

"Shit… same… damn… thing…" he muttered. His body slowly slid down the wall, his head a daze as the monster came towering over him.

"Too easy…" it said.

Before Snek passed out, he saw his jacket moving about oddly, making its way towards the monster…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Level demon huh?"

Knuckle and Street just walked out of Melee's house when the warning went out. The brothers were curious to see the monster and perhaps they could test out their bodies at the same time. "Let's go see how much of a demon this jackass thinks it is!" Knuckle announced.

They were quick to fly into town, a recent discovery to say the least. Not only can they manipulate the gravity around them, but they found their backs can produce a jetpack like propulsion, the blasters on their hands are used for steering so it made getting around a lot easier! The brothers were just hovering overhead when they saw Snek knocked out against the wall!

"Shit, SNEK!" The Brawlers quickly hit the ground, just as the monster stared down at an odd winter jacket creeping towards it.

"What… is this?" it demanded.

Suddenly, they came out of the sleeves; Pythan and Angie suddenly poked out and bit into the beast!

It stumbled back in shock, as its foot was quick to swell. "You insignificant… little…." The monster stumbled and teetered before hitting the earth foaming at the mouth! The Brawlers approached with caution as they found the monster dead!

"Shit that's some strong venom!" Knuckle announced.

Street however was tending to Snek. "He's out cold!"

"Damn," Knuckle looked down to the kids. "You haven't eaten yet have you?" he asked.

They shook their heads. "Papa was going to find something for us to eat, but there wasn't much… we are hungry." Said Angie.

"I'll bet. Just wait a moment. I think I can get you something big and meaty. Okay?"

They four nodded. "Bro, take Snek home. I'll take the kids and get them fed okay?" Street nodded as he grabbed Snek and rushed him back to Melee. Knuckle peered down at the four who were now peeking out of every hole in the jacket. "You look like you could use a good meal… oh and what have we here… and nice big monster you kids took down!"

"Too big," said Conna.

"Ah, not if you cut it up it isn't… Watch!" Knuckle was waiting to try out this new arm morph. He could forge a samurai sword of all things from parts of his arm. Yet still maintain both limbs. He paused and thought over the cuts before nodding his head.

Hack!

Slash!

Slice!

There were four large chunks of monster meat ready to serve. He even went one farther and seared it up so it was still warm for the four. At first they were reluctant, they are use to eating whole monsters, not chunks of it. "It's good, trust me, this is bigger than a monster you could have hunted yourselves… Oh, right cold, hold on…"

The skin pulled back on his chest, he began to expel hot air through his power core and kept the area where the kids and meat laid warm. Slowly, they came out of the jacket and stared down at the hunks of meat. Pythan was most curious as he stretched himself along one of the pieces. "Big… just slightly bigger than me…" he muttered as he was trying to see if he could eat it. With a shrug of his shoulders, he went for it. The massive hunk of meat was quickly consumed and he lay full on the ground.

"Good?" asked Angie.

"Very!" he purred and caressed his bulging belly. "Big, but not overly big…" He lay there like a large lump, but he was content and happy. His siblings quickly followed suit as they picked out their piece and ate it whole.

Knuckle was rather proud of himself as the four lay on the ground contently. "Now… to get you kids home…"

#

Garou was about to leave. He got the message about the level demon threat in the area and was going to check it out if no one else got to it. Yet as he reached for the door, Street came back with Snek in his arms. "He was barely out there for an hour!" Garou protested. "What the hell happened to him?!"

"Monster, took a stiff shot to the wall to say the least." Street explained as he carried Snek to the couch.

"Where are the kids…" Melee asked with a slight panic to her voice.

"With Knuckle."

"I'm on it" Garou said as he quickly left the house.

Melee rushed over to Snek. Street was already lifting his eyelids and checking. "Yet, he's out. Easy fix though…"

She paused. "What do you mean easy fix?" she demanded.

Street smiled as he placed his hand on top of Snek's head. "Knock outs like this are caused by the brain suddenly shifting and smashing into the skull, right now it's all jumbled to say the least, but…" His hand began to tremor oddly. "I found the frequency that realigns everything in the brain, Three… two… one…"

Snek's eyes suddenly shot open. "KIDS!" he said in shock.

He paused as he looked about the room. "Wh… what happened? Where… that monster!"

"Easy, you got knocked out pretty good, Knuckle is with the kids, and I think Garou is bringing them back home" said Street. "Shit man, don't take risks like that!"

"You obviously don't know Snek…" muttered Melee.

Garou returned a short time later, appeared much larger than when he left. He nearly tripled his own size as he came through the door. "Kids are going in your room, Snek." He announced as he walked by.

He sighed with relief and in frustration. "Staying a snake was probably the best thing I could have done for my career…" he muttered.

"Huh?" asked Street and Knuckle.

"Alley has a device that could knock the monster energy out of him. It was used on us once before, nearly killed the family, but those half turned will be rendered human again. Alley was going to make it to cure him, but he refused in case it fell into the wrong hands." She explained

"Still, had I been rendered human again…" He shook his head to it all. "I didn't realize how easily I can take down a threat as a serpent. Hell, my own kids outdid me!"

"Yeah, Pythan and Angie bit the bastard once, it dropped like a rock, dead!" said Knuckle. "I told ya your kids got strong venom!"

He smirked to the comment but became serious once more. "I am of no use for the next month…" he muttered.

"You are always of use Snek, snake or not." Melee said defiantly. "You're our voice of reason and experience here!"

"Besides, you got another kid who would LOVE to spend time with his father." Said Garou as he came out of his room, back to normal size again. "Also, we better call Alley and extend the house again… Damn we seem to renovate every year!"

Melee agreed though, the kids were getting bigger and needed their own space. Snek needs his room back!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They were finally done.

Amai just finished his schedule and sighed with great relief. "About damn time this finished up I was sick of the looks people were giving me." He muttered.

Fubuki was tired to it all too, besides Amai complaining constantly, she has been trying train as Goliath instructed. He wasn't like her sister to say the least. Tatsumaki would berate her until she did what she asked. Goliath was more patient and understanding to say the least. When they came to the association, he was about to go in until his body quivered. He sighed aloud in an annoyed tone. "Goliath… a favor again please?"

He nodded, however his brother Hunter and boyfriend Jag came out just as they were about to go in. "Whoa, Sweet Mask!?" Jag questioned.

"Yep, about time you and Snek traded off. It was nearly the end of the year," said Hunter.

Amai glared at him. "I had no intention of switching with him this month, I have too much going on," he muttered.

"Oh… Didn't dad tell you to phrase what you wanted to happen carefully?" Hunter questioned.

"I don't have time for this, I need something to eat!" Amai snapped.

"Oh, why didn't you say so!" Hunter laughed and gave him a playful slap on the back. "Come with us, we're on the hunt too! Jag said there was a monster near his village that has to be dealt with. You get to tag along now!"

"Great…" Amai said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Beggars can't be choosers Amai Mask," Goliath said in a tone worthy of the hero idol himself, with that, the three took off as Goliath went into the Association with Fubuki.

By the time he crossed the threshold, he ran into a pissed off Tatsumaki.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF USING MY SISTER AS A TAXI DRIVER FOR THAT ASSHOLE!" she demanded.

Everyone stopped and stared as Goliath stood there fearlessly. "It was training," he insisted. "I needed to see how long and far she could carry herself and others before her power would fail. She did remarkably well considering who she was transporting."

"THAT IS NO EXCUSE YOU FREAK!"

"SISTER, ENOUGH!" protested Fubuki. Tatsumaki froze as Fubuki stood her ground. "I am in training now with Goliath! Leave him alone and leave me alone, he's a great teacher and I am already learning a lot more about myself."

"YOU have ME," Tatsumaki protested. "I'm the better esper than he is! He has to have three esper abilities to equal me!"

"That maybe so, but I control my power well considering I trained myself. You are too aggressive and expect too much from your own sister. Despite your best intentions you are suppressing her! Placing too much pressure in her training and refusing to allow her to go at her own pace. You just don't see it since you are too blinded by your own abilities and your love for her!" Goliath snapped back.

Tatsumaki nearly dropped out of the air, but was quick to catch herself. "What did you say freak!?" she demanded.

"You know what I said, I am not going to repeat myself for your ignorance." Goliath walked by as he waved off Tatsumaki. "Fubuki, you trained well today. We are done for now." And continued on, however before he could even leave the area, he felt his body freeze a little. 'Is she now?' he thought.

He turned and found Tatsumaki trying to hold him in place. "I am not done with you freak!" she protested.

"No, but I am." He announced and continued on. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't hold him. Goliath knew he was like his father, not even Tatsumaki could overpower him when she tried to keep him in place. Instead, he opted to go to the cafeteria and grab a bite. As Amai announced he was hungry, Goliath was just starting to feel the sensation as well.

Taking the elevator, he got to the cafeteria and found it rather full, for a change, he decided to sit with Pig God at his table. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.

There came a simple nod from the large hero, as Goliath took his seat and placed his order.

#

"Why do I have to do this?" Amai demanded. "Why can't we just say within the city? I heard of a demon threat was announced in City Z"

"Dad's home, so is my mom. So needless to say that threat is already dealt with." Hunter said. "What's with you, Amai? You're a lot more sour than usual!"

His arms crossed as Hunter was flying him and Jag through the air, Jag was like a kid with a new toy, doing twists and turns as he was suspended over 4 thousand feet from the ground. Amai just didn't want this to happen at THIS moment. "There are too many things for me to do this month, and we have suffered delays already as to what they are. I merely just want to move on from this and get on to new projects than to sit on these any longer." He protested. "I am not quite in the mood to be eating massive monsters and appearing the way I do afterwards."

"Ah… did you have plans for Christmas?" Hunter questioned.

"Well… no… but…"

"Good, you can join us again!"

Amai didn't speak anymore of it as Hunter continued on. They flew beyond the super continent from what Amai knew and on to a rather large island.

"Jag… you live on this rock?" Hunter asked.

"Yep, home sweet home!" he said as they began to descend.

Amai cringed the moment he hit the ground. The earth was far colder than in the cities, yet, he wasn't passing out. He paused for a moment and turned to see the strange slime Alley covered him earlier begin to react. It came out from under his scales and surrounded his body. The jacket he wore with the built in heater kept his upper body warm, yet that warmth was able to spread to the tip of his tail thanks to the slime. He shook his head and continued on as Hunter explained. "We're dealing with a rather large one, tiger at best, the thing has been eating the animals around and making it difficult for the people to survive, as you can see it's a rather harsh place to live." Jag explained.

Hunter nodded. He paused as he began to react to something. "Ah, big boy ain't too far." He said with confidence.

Jag however was worried. "Nor is my village…"

"Let's book it! Amai, let's go!" The three took off. Amai kept pace slithering through the forest, but then, he paused, sensing the tremors growing underfoot.

"It's large… very large…" he thought. He continued on until he saw the massive figure approaching the village. Jag rushed up ahead and landed a solid kick to the side of its head! The beast stumbled back as Hunter followed suit and landed a stiff blow to its chest, forcing it back and away. The monster hit the ground and couldn't turn itself over fast enough. Amai was quick to get his coil around, forcing the air out of the beast! It was big, just enough to satisfy this hunger growing in him.

As Amai waited for it to die, granted, he could eat it as is, however when there are people watching, he tends to hold back. As the monster took its last breath, the people had come out and gathered to see the commotion.

"It's dead! It's finally dead!"

"Jaguar is home!"

"He brought the son of Garou with him!"

"But… who is this?"

The monster dead, Amai slowly stood up and peered at the face of the startled citizens, he merely smiled. "Hello, it's shocking to see someone like me in this position isn't it?" he asked with a grin.

There was no reaction, people however leaned into Jag and whispered. "Who is he?"

Amai froze.

They have never heard of him before?!

"I'm Amai Mask!" he announced. "Former Class A Rank 1! I'm a famous movie star, singer, and model!" he protested.

Still they stared at him oddly. "Who?" asked a teenage girl.

He felt his heart breaking; they had no idea who he was! Not even the teenage girls!

The travesty of it all.

Jag smiled. "In the cities, he's one of the most powerful and popular heroes they have. Amai, you need to understand, we got nothing up here! There is no technology really, we got no movie theatres or anything like that. Media is very limited here. Whatever we have is used to call for help!" Jag explained.

"You responded a lot faster than before, we sent that message out twenty minutes ago!" said an old man.

"You got HIS sister to thank for that." Jag announced as he pointed to Hunter.

The people flocked to him. It was as if Hunter were Amai in this land! "The son of Garou, you and your family are the only ones who come here!"

"You are amazing!"

"I killed the damn thing…" Sweet Mask pouted.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Street and Knuckle decided to take their leave from Melee's place, after all, they are still learning about their cyborg bodies and needed to do some training themselves. They made certain Snek was okay, as he still wondered how he got himself un-knocked out in a sense. Street however insisted he don't look into it too much. With that they left. Street stretched himself out as Knuckle did as well. "Well, what do we do?" he asked his brother.

Knuckle paused. "Guess we can go to the wasteland and train"

Street agreed. They took off and ventured to their training field. It's been a few months since the brothers woke and learned about their bodies, however there was still so much more to understand and discover. The instruction books they read at night in their sleep were informative, however, they rather do things themselves than read it over. Their feet hit the ground as the brothers found themselves in the barren land. Street nodded as he found no life forms around, so nothing would be harmed if they get a little… excessive.

"Okay bro, I've been working on this one, let's see if I can do it!" Knuckle called. His arms exposed, the slime retracted as the locked his fingers together. With that he focused as his arms split open, rearranged and revealed. They became a massive blasting weapon.

"Ooo, like Genos huh?" Street asked as he admired his brother's technique.

Knuckle nodded. "Question though, how the hell are we making the stuff that goes pew pew?" he asked.

Street smirked as his brother retracted and brought his arms back to normal. "Well, if I am not mistaken, we can create our own ammunition within ourselves. I mean the foods we eat do contain similar properties found in metals right?"

"Yeah, but still, then again, we haven't exactly blasted anything, it's mainly been firepower… You know, I think I rather stick with fire than bullets or anything like that."

"Ditto," Street said in agreement. "Okay, what's next… huh… Oh, frequencies!" he said aloud. "I learned and used that today on Snek, recalibrated his noggin after he got hit. We can use this as like an echolocation, but we got to be careful or we could shatter glass within a ten-mile radius."

"Yeah, true…"

Knuckle suddenly paused, as did Street when they sensed a drone fast approaching. "Friend or foe?" Street asked.

"Huh… feels familiar." They could scan flying objects and could tell by who created it their intentions. They have been able to visual dissect drones at a distance and determine who or what is flying/owns them. This one, was familiar yet not overly familiar. "It feels like one of Alley's but… it's not the same…"

They allowed the drone to approach. It was a small little thing with wings, yet able to project a visible screen. Up popped Child Emperor. "Hey kid!" Street said with excitement.

Child Emperor froze for a moment as he shook his head. "Wow… I still can't believe it's you two!" he said. "So… uh… I was wondering… would you be offended if I…"

"You wanna study us too huh?" said Knuckle.

The kid froze as he meekly nodded his head. "Look, I get it that you don't want people peering in…"

"You can kid." Said Street.

Child Emperor froze. "What?" he asked. "I mean, great…"

"We know Alley has been sharing notes with you, we don't mind you and Alley studying us to say the least since we trust you. We've worked with you." Said Knuckle. "Where do you want to meet us?"

Child Emperor was thrilled. "My lab, City Y please!"

"Oh? You got a lab too? Man, kids these days, having their own labs, we never had one…" joked Knuckle as Street gave him a firm elbow to the chest. "Okay, we'll be there soon kid," with that, the drone took off.

"So, we got another wanting to study us huh?" muttered Street. "We ought to be careful as to who we allow such a privilege to."

"Alley did say that Child Emperor was trustworthy. She has been sharing notes with him she has made along with Genus. If we keep it to a small group we should be fine." Said Knuckle.

"Okay… to City Y it seems!"

#

They arrived at a massive dome appearing structure. "You sure about this being the right place?" Knuckle asked.

Street nodded. "According to the information I got, this is a lab."

The brothers paused as they stared at it, only to have a massive door open. Child Emperor walked out, he was grinning from ear to ear! "You came!" he said with great excitement.

"Yeah, well… we were in the neighbourhood… so there's no probing involved right?" Knuckle asked only to get another stiff shot to the chest by his brother. "Ow…"

"No probing, I promise… also call me Emp. Your nickname stuck for me, and I am not a child anymore!" he protested.

They wondered into the lab, Child Emperor had a sweet set up, however it almost appeared crude in comparison to Alley. Granted, his lab would still be high tech in the eyes of others. However, Alley raised the bar on technology. They were led to a massive testing room. Along the walls were parts of robots and machinery. "Should this make us feel weird? I feel like it should…" whispered Knuckle.

"Relax, we're just here to do some testing for Emp. Besides, he doesn't make cyborgs. Merely robots."

"Still, wouldn't robots be considered cousins in a sense?" he joked.

Street rolled his eyes to it all.

"Thank you both for coming!" Emp called. "I wanted to see what modifications had been made to you. I mean, according to Alley you two are on a whole different level!" he explained. Then he blushed. "Uh… I was wondering, can I see your cyborg bodies… without the skin?" he asked.

"Oh sure!" The slime retracted. When it comes off the body, it gathers itself into a chamber in the stomach and resides there until it is allowed back out. The brothers stood before Emp in their cyborg 'glory' Emp was quick to walk around and marvel at the black chrome.

"Whoa… I mean… it looks like human anatomy…" he whispered. "Muscle fibres, no doubt bone structure, even veins! Why do you have veins?!" he demanded. "But they are metal!"

"Your guess is as good as ours." Said Street.

Emp paused. "Wait. You don't know who did this to you?"

"Oh no, we do. We just never got a chance to thank him to say the least. Did Alley tell you who made us?" asked Knuckle.

Emp paused. "Well, she did and she didn't. She claims her adopted son did it… I assume it was the alien she adopted huh?" he asked.

"Bingo!" announced Knuckle. "So we don't really know the full mechanics of this, but we are slowly working on it."

He froze. Emp nodded as he sighed aloud. "Perhaps Alley would want to collaborate with me again. You two… are utterly fascinating!"

"Aw, thanks!" joked Knuckle.

#

He's scanned them for a good hour. When he was done, Child Emperor was still shaking his head to it all. "I… I really don't know what to make of this metal. It's not found on earth ANYWHERE!" he protested. "This is SO unfair!"

Knuckle smirked as he found the kid's stash of snacks and began to help himself to them. "Well, from what we understand, this is called black chrome. The alien who made us treasures the metal, apparently this takes years, nearly hundreds in fact to cultivate in the vacuum of space. It condenses and pushed the metal into a diamond like consistence until it becomes as strong as a diamond, maybe even more so." Street explained.

Emp paused as he watched the alien slime began to course over their bodies once more, yet it didn't render the Brawler's naked, it already formed the clothing that they wore before. Black jeans and white sleeveless shirts. It even formed running shoes! Emp was taking all the notes he could manage to write, yet at the same time, despite all the scans he has done, he couldn't wrap his mind around how they were made. The detail was too great! "Street, Knuckle, you are seriously some of the most top of the line cyborgs I have EVER seen." He explained.

"Thanks, we appreciate that!" Knuckle said as he polished off a bag of twizzlers. "So, did you learn anything about us?"

He shook his head. "Not a damn thing yet. BUT, I have scanned you so I can do a visual dissection of your bodies now. I may have a better understanding afterwards as to what you are."

"Cool, well, good luck!"

"WAIT!" he called.

The twins froze as the turned to Emp. The kid was flustered, and yet he said. "Why didn't you come back?"

"Huh… Oh the Neo Heroes!" said Street. "Well, to be honest, with the shit going on with sis and her family, we rather keep close to them and ensure they are safe. Being a Neo Hero would keep us away from them, we don't want that to happen again…"

"Again?" Emp asked.

"Yeah, you see the branches to the house of evolution haven't been pruned yet sort of speak," explained Knuckle. "One dipshit is really pissing us off, and this is the asshole that had us killed! It nearly took out Melee and Garou by starving them to death!"

Emp paused to the news. "Why didn't Alley…"

"She didn't want you involved since it was a family issue, the Neo Heroes are doing good for the people for the sake of the people. What message would it have sent that you dropped everything to help them when there have been times that the heroes are too late to save someone?" Street asked. "Alley also didn't want the house of Evolution to come after you either. Anyone who gets involved or in their way, will become targets. She wasn't about to make you one."

Emp sat back in his chair, stunned to say the least. "Alley…" he muttered and then forced a smile. "You know… I haven't told her how sorry I was for how I treated her a few years ago. One of my robots was destroyed when Suiryu and Max went a little crazy with monster instinct… Max fried one of my robots, a giant at that… Alley saved her own work over mine, but I should have understood better. She had genetic material that couldn't be replicated. Mine was machinery that can be replaced… I held a grudge against her for so long over that…"

"Never too late to say you are sorry." Knuckle said. "Besides, I think she would like to hear that she is forgiven. Especially for an event that was beyond her control," Knuckle smirked. "That took a lot of moxy kid. To hold this over someone's head for so long for something she didn't mean to happen. Thank God it was only those two who were affect. Imagine if stronger male monsters caught wind of Alley in her most vulnerable time…"

The brothers walked out, yet despite the encouraging thought of apologizing to Alley. Emp suddenly felt like shit after what Knuckle said…

#

"Salt in the wound there bro, what the hell was up with that?" demanded Street.

He shrugged his shoulders to his twin. "Well, let me say it like this. You blame someone who had NO CONTROL over a situation and hold it over their heads for years… yeah, I'm going to be an asshole about it and make sure they feel that sting of remorse for some time. He's held a grudge against Alley for years for that, Emp should have know better…"

"He was still a kid though, right?" asked Street.

"Teenager, but still, let him learn this lesson the hard way to say the least."

"Sometimes man, you really are a dick," Street said.

"And I will gladly be one when the time is needed…" Knuckle paused. "Huh… Short Stack is no where near the cities… he's gone off the normal grid and into the boonies…"

Street paused. "Why?"

"Check your coordinates of Pac… how far as he gone?"

Street paused. "Out of the cities to say the least, in fact, he's nearly gone off the continent all together. Heading for smaller patches of land, Southwest from where we stand."

"Southwest huh? Well Metal Bat must be part bloodhound, he's hot on his trail!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After devouring the monster in Jaguar's village, Amai and Hunter were welcomed in with open arms. The people celebrated Jag's return, those who hunted down monsters along side him in the past were quick to embrace Jaguar. One was a massive looking bearded man! "Our Hero returned!" he shouted.

"Whoa, hey, I am still training, take it easy there Leo." Jag broke free from the massive man's arms. "Guys, this is my brother Leo. He's the second oldest in the family. Needless to say, I'm the youngest."

The celebration was silenced rather quickly as a rather large and dominating man approach. Amai was amazed that his man was loftier than the one named Leo, but he could feel his power in his steps. He is not to be trifled with among the people. Jaguar's head suddenly bowed. "I have returned." He said in great respect. "But, I will not be staying long… father,"

The ominous man merely nodded his head. He had long matted black hair and a beard to match, his face and arms covered with scars. The cold here didn't appear to bother him the least bit as he merely a layer of fur to keep the chill off. Then his sights turned to Hunter and Amai. "Who are these creatures?" he asked.

"Creatures… I am NO…" Amai was about to snap until Hunter gave him a stiff elbow to the chest.

"Not the time or place, shut it!" he muttered under his breath.

The glare didn't lighten from Amai Mask as Jaguar was quick to introduce them. "Father, the serpent before you is a hero in the great cities, his name is Amai Mask. This isn't his true form either; he has switched with the hero named Snek who is indeed a serpent man. Before the Heroes Association fell, he was Class A Rank 1. Any and all who had wished to become an S Class hero… had to go through him. Only two did."

There came whispers. Amai smirked, that was far more like it!

"Next is the second eldest son of Garou. Hunter," he explained. "We… we are…"

"We're dating." Hunter said fearlessly. "I hope to have your blessing for this." And gave a bow of respect to the father.

There was no expression at first, until he turned to his son. "Jaguar, is this true?" he asked.

"Yes father, we are taking it slow…"

"Come with me… now," he ordered.

Hunter gulped his pride, Amai was curious to what was going on now. Despite the ground being frozen, he could sense there was something happening. Although the elder's tone was stern, there wasn't a sense of rage or disappointment resonating through the earth. He could sense how nervous Hunter and Jaguar were as they were led to a rather long and tall structure. Perhaps a great hall in the village where meetings take place?

The village here has been made with whatever is around, some forged with some bricks, but mainly, it was thick logs and wood planks. They went into the great hall, once the door closed behind them, Jaguar was pulled into his father's arms. "THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS!" he announced proudly. "MY SON! And the SON of GAROU! Our families will be the strongest in the world! Now, when is the ceremony?"

"Ceremony?" whispered Hunter.

Jaguar's father turned to Hunter. "When will you wed?"

Hunter turned a lighter shade of green. "Marriage? Whoa, wait, we're taking it slow here! I am new to the whole dating concept, let alone… dating a guy too!" he tried to explain gently.

"Nonsense! You are drawn to the natural ability of my youngest son! Jaguar has always been gifted, yet his older brothers are rather massive powerhouses who take up after me. Many assumed he would never find a strong partner to share his life with. But this… this is PERFECT!"

Even Amai was confused as he looked to Hunter who still couldn't wrap his head around it all. "Father, please! Restrain yourself. Hunter and I are merely dating. We aren't very serious to be honest with you, it's more like just hanging out with each other, getting to know one another better…"

His father laughed as he turned to Hunter. "HO-HO! I see, he needs to be courted! Try harder son!" he said and slapped his son on the back. "A son of Garou is not easily enthralled with simple trinkets or actions. You need to make a grand gesture to him!"

"Uh… not to be rude or anything, but… you're okay with your son being… gay?" Amai asked as gently as he could.

The father grinned. "In our culture, it matters not what your preference is, as long as you have a partner who helps you grow stronger! As I said, I have many other sons, all with strong wives, grandchildren are not going to be an issue for me. I have worried for my youngest, for there are not many strong males here that are interested in him, not even from other tribes!"

"Tribes?" asked Amai.

"Our peoples have lived outside of the great continent ever since its creation. Very rarely has any of our people gone over to it, or those who live there come here. Our livelihoods are not the least bit easy, it challenges you day in and out to say the least. We call for help when it is needed, whether it is given is another matter." He explained.

Amai then remembered the time Garou brought him far out of the city, they took down these demonic hippo creatures in the winter, then again the land itself felt like an eternal winter. Was that one of the other tribes he spoke of? They always hold Garou in the highest regard.

"Father, we merely came here to kill two birds with one stone in a sense. Amai Mask here needs to feed from large monsters when he is in this form and the monster was threatening the village. Hunter transported us here with his esper abilities, we will be going back to the city soon. But I will try and visit more often"

His father sighed. "So be it. But you must swear to me…" he said in a stern tone as his hand clasped over his shoulder. "You will treat my future son in law right!"

"Uh…" Hunter began to say. "Sir, no means of disrespect, but as I said, this is a while new thing for me to be dating a guy… I am bisexual… so I don't really know…"

"I have a daughter"

"FATHER!" Jag protested.

#

There was silence on the way back to the city.

Jag was red with embarrassment. Hunter didn't quite know what to say as Amai figured he now has a wonderful idea for a twist in the soap opera he's going to be continuing the moment he turns back! They landed at the Association, Jag was quick to put some distance between him and Hunter.

Hunter felt as if he said something wrong. "This is my fault isn't it?" he asked Amai. "I never said…"

"You made your intentions clear, and I am certain you spoke of them to Jaguar before. However, I think he is more flustered with the pressure his father has casted upon him. Apparently in this tribe, you are quite the catch…"

Hunter sighed aloud. "That was dad's doing…" Hunter told him when his mom and dad first became M Class Dragons, their focus wasn't on the cities. After all the heroes had upped their game to contend against them to show the M Class wasn't needed. Instead, they went to the areas of isolation. Nearly half a year his mother and father went there, taking out monsters for them. No other hero went that far, with the exception of Flash, Tatsumaki and Atomic on the rare occasion. They developed a reputation, and when they returned to the cities, they began to get better at taking down monsters long before the threat is called out.

"That what they were doing…" Amai whispered.

"Anyway, are you good? Do you need anything else to eat?" Hunter asked.

Amai smirked. "I am quite satisfied, thank you… perhaps a trip back to your parents would be appreciated…"

"Sure… I'll talk to Jag after I get back."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They cuddled him.

After the kids woke up from their nap, they immediately went in search of him. When he was discovered on the couch, they were quick to rush to Snek and make sure he was okay. Since then, Snek couldn't move as his kids clamored over him, both out of worry for what happened between him and the monster, and the other reason… he was warm. "Papa, nice and warm now!" cooed Angie.

"Will Papa always be this warm like this?" asked Pythan.

"I think so, if not I just get a blanket…"

"This is nice…" said Bo.

All the while Snek glared at Melee who was taking pictures as this was all going on. He sighed aloud as the front door opened. Amai came in with a rather full stomach to say the least. Yet, as soon as the kids saw him, they froze in fear. They clenched Snek for dear life as even Amai paused and stared down at them! There was a slight glare to his eyes, but he was quickly pushed along by Melee.

"Keep moving!" she warned.

When he was out of sight the kids trembled. "Big male… he'll eat us for sure!" whispered Pythan.

"No, he won't." announced Garou. He turned to the four and gave his word. "No one will harm you in MY house. You are my family too, family does not hurt family, and we protect each other."

They settled down and sighed with relief.

"I got to know what did you kids eat!" said Snek. "You got very full little bellies and you came home shortly after me…"

"Knuckle prepared the monster they killed. Cut off large chunks of it and seared it so it wouldn't be so messy. I ate the rest,"

"Thanks for getting them,"

"Meh," Garou said, shrugging off the gratitude Snek expressed.

It made Snek smile a little, the Human monster considers him family… who would have thought?

"Well I better get these kids to bed to sleep… and they are already asleep…" he announced only to hear little snores coming out of the four. Snek sighed. "Damn it."

Melee giggled once more as he decided to lean back and just let the kids sleep, it's not like he is going to be able to move them without waking them up!

#

Garou decided to do a quick check with Amai.

He walked down the hall and yet found the bedroom door was already open. "Hey… can I come in?" Garou called.

"Your house…" came a mutter.

He was already smirking to it all. Garou did tell him time and time again to chose his words carefully, second of all, ensure he really wanted to do this, lastly, every time he saw Amai he asked when he and Snek would be switching. Still, it was fun to see the former Class A Rank 1 hero mess up. It was few and far between when that occurs!

Garou waltzed in, his smile only grew as Amai was already lying on the ground, pouting to it all. "Get this over with…" he muttered.

"Told… you… so…" Garou said long and slowly. "I told you, time and time again, did you listen NO, now look at ya. You still don't trust me, and it bites you in the ass…" he took a deep, content sigh. "I did try to warn you though... but I got to say, this is funny as hell!"

"Are you done?" Amai demanded.

"Nah, I'll jab you every few hours… or few days, depends on how often Melee catches me in the act."

He got a glare from Sweet Mask. "Can you take this back?" he asked of him. "Snek wasn't going to switch with me this year because of his kids!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he ain't going to want a break later. You made this arrangement, you deal with it," warned Garou. "Besides, it's not all that bad on your end. You get a place to stay and people to watch you back. It's like a vacation for you!"

"I had projects in the works, we were suppose to start most of them by next week!" he protested. "The movie, Drax and I did, it's popular, they want a squeal already, we were to make arrangements with that! Now… Now I can't do anything!"

Garou was a little confused. "I thought people wanted to do a movie with you or something like that?"

"Shut up" growled Amai.

"Oh, that's right, you don't want to 'romanticize' this. Please, don't think that the notion hasn't already happened? You've seen your fan made websites when they find out you've become that?" snickered Garou. "Your fan girls all talk about how they would love to wear you as their own personal scarf, have you coil around them and embrace them like no man ever could!... except for Snek when he's like that but they don't give a damn about him."

Amai sneered. It was true. His fan base is very devoted and half of the time the photos have been replaced of him in serpent form. The women adore him as such, and yet there are some who even prefer him in such a state! "Besides, that little media ban we had on you, that was only for the first transformation, since you are technically one of us, you can do whatever the hell you want as this. Do a concert for all I care"

Amai merely pouted as he continued to lie on the floor, Garou left him be for now.

This month he could already tell was going to be a fun one!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Amai had to readjust to the house. He wasn't use to it being so full like this, not to mention the notion that he would be living in it with four other serpents. The children were terrified of him to say the least and it wasn't a bad thing in his mind. After all, knowing where they came from and how they were made, he saw the truth. They are nothing more than a mere experiment that just happened to survive. A few days have passed since the turn, the media out in full force to say the least. Any time Amai left the house he was bombarded at the base of the mountain by the media asking for his reasoning behind switching with Snek.

He tried to brush it off and explain that it was long over due for Snek to have a break. "I nearly forgot about him, granted I should have planned for this far better than I should. No less, Amai keeps his word!" he insisted.

He was just covering his own ass to say the least.

Since then, he has tried to keep a low profile until he was forced to go to the studio and explain the situation to the board of directors. Yet once they saw him, they froze at the sight of Amai. One even stood up and out of his chair!

"Sweet Mask!?"

"I am sorry for this sudden change of appearance…."

"THIS IS PERFECT!" one of the women yelled in great excitement. "The beauty and the beast story we keep getting pitched, we can finally do it!"

He froze to the announcement, nearly stunned to it in fact. "What?" he asked as gently as he could, but in reality he was fuming. "I didn't agree…"

"Amai, listen, this story is solid. We have read it over and approved of it, we wanted to talk to you about this when you were turned into a serpent again, think of it… The savings we could have on costume design and effects!"

He tried to keep his composure about the whole thing, Amai was swallowing his rage as he tried to explain he did not agree to this the least bit. "Gentlemen… Ladies… please understand how… difficult it is for me to be doing something like this, I do not wish to glorify monsters the least bit!"

"But Amai, you need to remember. Just like you, our main character was turned against his will. He never wanted to be a monster it's a curse! BUT, in the end, he becomes human once more. We are not glorifying monsters. We are showing the human within that is trapped and is trying to break free from these curse chains he is forced into!" said one of the women directors.

Well, if she puts it like that…

He began to think it over. "Perhaps… perhaps…" he said.

The board began to smile and nod in agreement. "We already have the set from the movie that fell through with Anastasia, we didn't dismantle it just in case. We will adjust it so you can move about freely and comfortably. We can film this rather quickly, we already have our star and we found another leading lady."

"Oh? I wasn't informed she was already casted…"

"Indeed, a young beauty, she knows of your form like this and doesn't mind the least bit. Amai, we can film this in a month. The other movies will be delayed that's fine, but let's strike while the iron is hot here!"

The argument was valid. With a sigh, he agreed to it. "Very well…" he said with a sigh.

"Excellent, we start filming tomorrow!"

#

For the rest of the day, Amai took in the set and saw the adjustments made for his new… girth in a sense. Yet as he slithered along the set, there was a young woman who caught his eye. She was walking through as well when their eyes met. At first she was stunned, but not terrified. Amai thought it was a die-hard fan girl that made it backstage, yet she approached with caution. As she stood before him, she bowed respectfully. "Amai Mask, I am honoured to meet you. I will be your new co-star for the Beauty and the Beast movie. My name is Latina Tohru."

Amai paused as she rose once more, she has good features, her skin flawless and young. She wasn't the least bit full of herself. Her long blond hair sparkled in the light, her blue eyes shined. He suddenly noticed the nervousness in her as her hands were constantly wrapping around each other. "I am very pleased to meet you Latina." He said and gave a bow himself. "My apologizes for my appearance. It wasn't exactly planned…"

"Oh no, not at all Amai!" she said in a stunned voice. "In fact… I think you look rather gorgeous!" she said and gave a nervous smile. "I mean… You look good, you pull this look off really well… I mean…" she began to stutter out of nerves, but he smiled.

"I appreciate the compliment. So… this is our set huh?"

She nodded. "I think it is, I promise you Amai Mask, I will do everything I can to make this movie the best it can be!" she insisted. "Together, I will be a better actress and will be worthy to be your co-star!"

He smiled and nodded to her, but then, something caught his eye. She wore a pendent around her neck with a large oval looking piece. "Your necklace is interesting… what stone is that?" he asked.

She laughed. "Stone? On no, it's not a stone. I ordered this from the Association website, this is a bit of your scales from when you shed!" she said.

Amai froze as he took a closer look, it was the same color and same pattern as his own skin. "Is it now… it looks lovely on you…"

But deep down, he was swallowing his rage. 'Alley, what have you been doing!' he thought.

#

After receiving the script and a few rehearsals, Amai went right to the Association. He needs answers!

He slithered in when he saw Alley directing heroes about, a few monster attacks have been called and were being dealt with now. When she finished, she turned. "Hey Amai! Are you hungry?"

"I will be but what is the meaning of this!" he demanded. He took the time earlier today to print off a page from the Association site, all the jewellery that was made with his scales. "Alley… I never agreed to this!" he protested.

"Keep your tail on, it's not what it looks like. Yes some of it IS yours but I bleach the DNA right out of it and then recolor the scales to match your color!" she said. "How else do you think I make a profit without taking rich people money?" she asked.

He shook his head to it all. "I never agreed to this!"

"When you throw out your scales it is public domain. Besides what the hell were you going to use it for?" she demanded. "I've been properly disposing your discarded skin since you first became a serpent. I've made a lot of armour but the scraps can't be used for much of anything…"

"Armour?" he demanded. "You are making armour out of my skin!"

"Yeah. Keeps the other heroes safe to say the least. You still got a ways before you catch up with Snek though. His scales have gotten a lot stronger! I need a laser to cut them into proper pieces now,"

He appeared sick at the notion. "Alley…" he said in a warning tone.

"Did you ever wonder where those cheque you have been getting every month come from and the bonus that is tossed in there? That's from the sales of the jewellery. You get 50%" she said.

He froze to the announcement. It was a lot of money, also if she is bleaching the DNA out of the scales he shouldn't have to worry about it. He sighed aloud. "Very well then…" he said in a defeated tone. "What is the best seller by the way?"

Alley smirked. "It's a tie between the pendent and bracelets, anything that appears to have a large amount of scales in it tends to sell better. Since they think they got a piece of Amai Mask to call their own!"

He nodded. "Any plans on expanding?" he asked.

She froze to the question, her hands came on her hips as Alley glared at him. "Just a moment ago you were chewing me out for making these… now you want to expand the line!?" she demanded.

"Well if the deed is done, might as well, correct?"

She sighed. "We will talk of this later, for now you know, you get it and we can move on from this." She paused. "How's the slime working?"

He nearly forgot about that. "Oh, yes, indeed. It has worked wonders. I am quite comfortable and don't even notice the cold anymore."

"Good, keep me posted on that, I want to make more for Snek and his kids when they are old enough."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hunter decided to leave Jag alone for the rest of the day. There was just something wrong and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Is it me?" he asked himself. "Am I putting too much stress on him? What if it's the relationship? We haven't done anything serious. My feelings haven't even changed, then again, what am I suppose to feel?" Hunter sighed aloud as he too struggled with this. He's never really been in love before, he has a crush on various heroes but has no idea what's what!

After dropping Amai off at home, he went back to see Jag, but stopped himself from seeking him out. Everything was just too confusing right now, he wouldn't even know what to say!

On the bright side, Jag's father approves of him… that's something.

Hunter continued to walk about the halls of the association, but there was another thing on his mind too. Pac, he hasn't heard a word from him since he left, let alone Metal Bat. He also wondered, what has happened to Pac, would also happen to him. Even Alley has changed again with her new set of arms, Hunter has remained the same since he turned scaly, granted, stronger, but no other physical changes. "You appear troubled."

He paused as he saw Genus walk the opposite side of the hall with a coffee in hand. "Would you like to talk?"

"I don't know how much of a help you would be to me."

"I don't quite know myself either, but let's try it out anyways. One cannot find progress if they remain stagnate in the same place." Hunter nodded in agreement. Genus brought him to his own office. They took a seat as Genus suddenly bore a smile of sorts.

"What?" Hunter asked.

"You appear just like your brother Pac when I first encountered him. Just you are much older than he was when I met him." He said and giggled to the notion. "To think the children of Garou would become such… fascinating beings to observe and learn from!"

"Yeah, well…" Hunter muttered. "Genus… how different am I from my brother and sister? I always feel like I am one step behind them or even a mile!" he sighed aloud to it all. "Genus… am I that different from them?" he asked.

Genus paused to the question as he turned to Hunter. "I am certain your parents have stated that you are all different and unique. Everyone grows at their own rate and no one is the same, not even the twins!" he explained. "However, I can't help but feel that you are lost in the notion. Hunter, why must you compare yourself with your siblings?"

He fell silent. "I don't really know who I am," he whispered. "Genus, what's wrong with me? I like Jag, but… I don't know if I am in love… I don't even know what love is besides my family… Genus… I confused and sort of scared of all of this."

He didn't quite know what to expect out of a man of science. After all, Genus is more fact driven, discovery no matter the cost, could he possibly have advice for something like this? Yet he sat and listened with great interest, when Hunter fell silent, Genus appeared to think over his words before stating. "How would you feel if at this moment, Jag were to leave, and never come back?" he asked.

He paused, almost devastated to the news. "Did he say something to you? Is he going home?" Hunter demanded.

"No, but judging how you just reacted, you have feelings for him. This is beyond a mere friendship correct?"

Hunter took a moment to process the question. He nodded and relaxed once more. "But… I don't know…" he paused.

"Have you exchanged any sort of affections?"

"Well… no… Jag has been really good to me. He's held back since he doesn't want to rush…"

"Perhaps it's something to consider now." Genus suggested. "Hunter, you have had the emotional bond, perhaps you may want to try a physical bond."

He nodded in agreement. "Now… about my lack of change…"

"That… is your body's choice, nothing I can say will alter it otherwise. Granted, you know I would LOVE to test that, but your father would kill me and your mother without a doubt would tear me apart down to my very soul." He snickered. "If you are meant to change, you will. Until then, you need to find yourself Hunter. Understand who you are and what you want to make of this life!"

"Thanks Genus…" Hunter slowly got up and walked out of the office, he knew then and there he has to find Jag and talk to him about all of this.

#

Jag was in the cafeteria; he hovered over a hot drink but appeared rather flustered. "Oh? What's wrong kitten?"

His eyes slowly looked up to one Puri-Puri Prisoner. The man was massive, hulking even, and yet maintained a respectable distance. Jag sighed aloud. "I'm under a lot of pressure right now…" he muttered. "I don't know what to do about it either."

Puri took a seat as he listened intently. "Oh, is this about you and Hunter? That's one crazy looking boyfriend you got there… I won't lie, I tried to make a move on him… and his younger brother Goliath… Mmm, a name like that gets my mind wondering to say the least."

"Just because I am gay doesn't mean I am not grossed out by what you just said!" Jag snapped back, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "My father wants me to do everything possible to make this work with Hunter. Thing is, I don't know if Hunter is really into me. We are merely talking and hanging out like friends would, but we haven't done anything that would show me otherwise that we could be a couple. I don't want to rush him either. If I do that then I may scare him off and he will find someone else. But, ever since he's been with me, he hasn't even look at another guy or any girl!"

Puri nodded as he began to stir his drink more and more intensely. "Oh? Go on… he's loyal to you is he?"

"I wouldn't say loyal!" Jag replied. Yet he fell silent. Hunter hasn't left his side, he hasn't looked at another guy or girl to say the least since he has been with Jag. Still, the thought lingered in the back of his mind.

What if Hunter is merely using him to test out if he really likes guys?

"Darlin' I don't think you need to figure out if Hunter is worthy of you, it's the other way around." Puri announced.

His declaration took him aback, Puri-Puri Prisoner then leaned back a little and smile. "You need to decide what YOU want, not your father. It's okay to be greedy from time to time. Besides, if Hunter doesn't want you, there are plenty of other… strong men who would! You also need to understand too, he is the son of the Human Monster. Hunter will adapt to his own needs, if you two don't work out, he will get over it and move on. You need to protect your own heart on the matter and know if this is something YOU want, not your father. If it's what you desire then there's only one thing you can do. Fight for it!"

He was stunned.

No one had ever given him such profound advice like this before… well… not since Muman Rider introduced him to Hunter. "You know what, you're right!" Jag announced. "I'm going to find him and demand to know…"

"Jaguar?"

He froze as he turned and found Hunter lingering behind him. "Can we talk?"

Puri-Puri smirked as he announced he was taking his leave. Despite him announcing such a thing, Jag could sense him lingering behind the door in anticipation to what was about to happen.

Jag turned to Hunter. "What's this about?" he asked in a cold tone.

Hunter gulped his pride as he approached Jag. "I've wanted to try something… yet don't quite know how…"

"Well get it over with…"

Jag suddenly felt Hunter gently clasped the sides of his face, he pulled him in for a kiss!

The world slowed down in Jag's mind, all he could feel was Hunter's lips and then, as soon as it began he pulled away gently. His eyes closed to savour the moment, when they opened again, he gazed upon a confused Hunter. "Well… was it good?" he asked.

Jag smirked. "I need another to be sure." This time he went in for the kiss and wasn't refused. The two shared the moment.

When they pulled away, Jag was smiling from ear to ear. "I've wanted to do that for a while." He said, Hunter however still appeared rather confused to it all. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… yeah… It's just different for me, that's all. I like it, I really did!" He insisted, however he appeared rather saddened. "I'm sorry…" he said.

Jag froze, his heart nearly stopped beating for a moment… was Hunter breaking up with him?

"Look, if it's something I did…"

"What? NO!" Hunter protested. "Man, I was saying sorry for how I have been acting. I've been leaving you in a lurch and not consider how you have been feeling about this. I've been selfish in only thinking about me… for that, I'm sorry."

Jag sighed with relief, for a moment, he thought he and Hunter were done for! "So… you still want to continue dating?" Jag asked. "I am going to warn you, if we do. My dad is going to get nosy and do EVERYTHING possible to get us married…" he warned.

Hunter snickered. "He can't rush us! Besides, I am sure my dad can kick your dad's ass."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"So… how long has he been like this?"

"A few hours,"

"Really?"

"And I got to pee real badly!"

Melee snickered as Snek was still stuck on the couch with the kids. Drax just got home from a patrol he was doing. Despite the fact the Neo Heroes haven't called him back into action yet, he still likes to walk about the cities just in case. He snickered still as his father was pinned, his siblings sleeping blissfully and were in no rush to wake up. "Someone… help me!" Snek whispered desperately.

Melee smiled as she used her esper abilities. Snek's kids levitated up off the couch and him as he made a mad dash for the bathroom! Drax laughed aloud as Melee eased them back on to the couch, however they were quick to wake, realizing their father wasn't there.

"Papa?" asked Conna. The four began to look about desperately for him. He emerged from the bathroom a short time later yet they kids were pouting.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said aloud. "I needed the bathroom!"

He tried to sit back down again, but the four were upset the moved so suddenly. They couldn't regain the same comfort they had before and gave up on the notion of falling back asleep. Drax snickered aloud as he took a seat next to his father. "So, I take it Amai was in for a rude awakening?" he snickered.

"He went through a floor in the hotel he was staying in."

"Are you serious! HAHAHA!" Melee cackled. So much so it brought her to the point of tears. "Oh God, I would pay to see that"

"We all would." Said Snek. "But for now, I got the month. So, what do you want to do?"

Drax thought it over. "Well, we could go to the mall, he could just hang out, train some more… I got to keep in shape since apparently I am going to be in another movie with Amai…"

"Oh that's right, we can see that in theatres still right?"

"Yeah…"

"I want to see the movie!"

"Really dad? You want to see an Amai Mask movie?"

"Well my son is starring in it too, so yeah, I'll endure."

"Us too!" protested Pythan. "We want to see a movie too!"

"Yeah!" said Angie. "Movie!"

Drax smirked. "You want to come watch a show? Sure, I think we can bring them,"

"Uh… Drax, they are a little young that." Melee warned. "Remember, they are just children. Your movie is rated PG 13. They may not understand the concept of it either…"

"We can see a movie!" protested Bo. "It's a really big TV!"

"He's smart I'll give him that…" she muttered.

"I think this may be a little too violent for you." Drax said gently as he had time to think over the notion.

Pythan hissed. "We hunt!" he protested. "We can take out our own prey and do so, we can handle it!" he said and then pouted once more, his glare came to their father. "Papa!" he protested.

"He has a point."

"Seriously dad?" Drax questioned. But then again he understand since he has to balance the attention between himself and the four. The four can be rather needy too. He sighed aloud but them thought it over. "Well, maybe I can ask a favour. Some kids I use to go to school with work that the theatre close by, maybe they could hold a private show for us… I can buy up all the tickets…"

"Wait, how much did Amai pay you to be in this?"

#

They went to the show with the four in tow. Drax took Bo and Conna as Pythan and Angie remained with Snek. He smirked, as the four appeared to be more excited for the show than Drax and Snek combined! "Really big TV! Really big TV!" the four chanted.

They arrived at the box office as Drax peered into the booth. He smirked. "Hey Flip, long time no see!"

The young teenager turned. "HEY!" he said with great excitement. He rushed out of the booth and was about to hug Drax until he saw the two little faces peering out of his jacket! They gave a warning hiss, immediately, Flip backed off. "Whoa…"

"Oh, sorry little sibs, Flip, this is Bo and Conna, my brother and sister. Dad has the other two Pythan and Angie."

He was silent as he continued to stare down the two who glared at him from under the jacket. "So, is it cool I buy up all the tickets for the show?" he asked.

Flip snapped out of his gaze. "Oh right, I spoke with the manager about it. You don't have to buy up all the tickets, everyone has seen it and he said he is always willing to make an exception for a star in the movie! So the theatre is all yours!"

"Sweet, well, two adults and four kids!" he said and took out his wallet.

Flip waved off his money. "When I told the manager who was coming, he insisted you don't pay. Snack on the other hand…"

Snek laughed. "Can't win them all. Come on, let's go!" he was rather excited, it had been years since he has seen a movie! As they walked inside, Snek savoured the smell of it all, the freshly popped popcorn, the sounds of excitement as people began to gather outside their favourite theatres.

Pythan peered out as he took it all in. "Wow…" he whispered.

"You need to stay inside the jacket for now or people may step on you, understand?" Snek asked gently.

Pythan nodded. "Can we try snacks?" he asked.

"I don't see why not, you want to try popcorn?" Snek questioned.

The four nodded with excitement. "POPCORN! POPCORN! POPCORN!" they chanted, there were smiles aimed at Snek, but they were quick to vanish when they noticed the serpent children hidden in his jacket!

Drax bought enough snacks and drinks for everyone. They made their way to the theatre and took the best seats in the house. The jackets came off but the four remained nestled into them. "Really big TV" whispered Angie.

"If it gets too loud I got these for you guys." Drax carried a bag with him, and it contained sound cancelling headphones. It won't block all the sounds, but enough that it won't irritate the four. They appeared to like the crunch and saltiness of popcorn and pop was a whole different flavour sensation!

The lights began to lower, the four clenched on a little tighter. "Papa?" asked Pythan.

"The show it about to start, it's okay," he said gently.

He watched on with interest as the four suddenly were glued to the movie screen…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After his chat with Hunter, Genus decided to walk about for a bit. However it was a commotion in a sparring room near by that got his attention. Ever since, he couldn't bring himself to pull away from it.

Genus was on pins and needles as he watched on. It was a three-way duel in the sparring chamber, and yet he couldn't help be nervous. It was 66 against Jason and Draven.

He couldn't understand why 66 agreed to this, but so far he was a remarkable teacher. The two young men were learning sword combat and were able to just keep up with him. Yet there have been close calls to say the least. One he thought Jason was going to lose his head! Yet Draven was quick to interfere and block the strike as Jason went low and nearly gutted 66. They were too many close calls to count, each time Genus held his breath until the match was called.

"Not bad."

"Thanks brother!" Jason said with great respect. He had always address him as his older brother. The two were almost like twins, however Jason, still human and full of wonderment and life, while 66 appeared to just be drifting by.

66 then turned to Draven and nodded. "Your skills have improved greatly too, way to watch his back."

The chest puffed up in the young son of Garou. Genus admits he has been watching him from afar. Draven is the only one who appears to be lost in the family in a sense. He has been trying different things to pass the time, as well as experimenting with other methods of being a hero. Perhaps it explains why he is drawn to 66. A man who has been forced to find his way in life, and yet has made a living being a hero despite some who have called him a monster.

He smiled as the three emerged from the spar room. Jason instantly took notice of him, he smiled and rushed to him. "Father! Did you see? I've improved!"

"Indeed. You are getting quite strong Jason." Genus said proudly.

"Kid's got talent, I'll give him that. I didn't even have that ability at his age… then again, I don't really remember what I was doing at his age…" 66 stated as he went for a smoke. "I'm out of here, next week Jason, same time. Work on your stance a little more and have more conviction in your swing." He turned to Draven next. "Quite trying so hard!"

The words of a wise teach, however Draven wondered what he meant. "Am I trying too hard?" he asked.

"I dunno" Jason replied. "I think you were pretty badass in there, you matched him move for move to say the least!" He checked on his watch. "Ooo, I better shower and get to the restaurant…" he paused. "Uh, dad… I think I want out of the family business…"

Genus smiled. "I understand Jason, no problem. We are already hiring new recruits, your sister wants to leave as well. In fact, she wants to start her own business. She has become quite the cook recently."

"Never thought Misty was interested in cooking…" Jason said offhandedly. But shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, I want to work on my sword skills and also my music. I can play guitar well, and I am going to learn bass!"

"Nice!" Draven said. "Me… I got to figure out what I want to do, I feel like I am floundering in a sense…"

Genus chuckled. "Don't ever feel that way, you are still very young. You may not look like it, but you are! Don't feel you have to decide right away as to what you want to do. How old are you now? 8?" asked Genus.

"No, Alley and my older brother's are 8. I'm five"

Jason's face even dropped in shock. "Five!" he demanded.

"What, you are younger than him!" Genus protested.

The smile came back over his son. "Oh… right…" he snickered. "So yeah, the whole world is before us, man. Don't sweat it! Take some time and try out different things until you know what you want to do! Besides, no one said you had to follow the family business"

Draven smiled and nodded in agreement. His arm came around Draven as he announced. "Let's go get some lunch, we earned it!"

As the two walked away, Genus smiled, knowing he made the right choice in cloning Jason, Misty and Gene. The three have become something rather different to him, he truly felt like a father.

#

He made his way back to the lab, yet found there was a transmission coming in. At first he looked for Alley but she was nowhere in sight, fortunately he knew how to allow it through. "Hello?" he called.

"FATHER!"

"GENE!" he could hear his voice, yet the signal was still scrambled. "Do I get Alley for you? Is Boros there?"

"No, I called to talk to you! I miss you father."

Genus's heart melted a little, he was relieved to hear his son's voice, but couldn't help but notice the slight change in it. "Gene, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Fine father, fine. I have been doing some tests on myself to withstand the space environment. Not to worry I kept a sample of my blood to the side just in case you wished to have another son, my blood is similar to Quantum when you spoke of him, his doesn't break down the more you clone from the sample correct?"

Genus paused as he grew concerned. "Gene… you've been TESTING on yourself?!"

"Of course father, within reason and limit. Boros has assisted me as well in fact. We found that the environ suit notion was too complex; as well there are crewmembers here who instantly adapt to whatever atmosphere they are exposed to. I have come to adopt that trait myself. But, I wanted to say how may discoveries I have made since we left earth. I have filled books about it all! I wanted to call you, to thank you for this opportunity!"

Genus was doing everything now to hold back his tears. "I… am proud of you Gene. You know that…"

His son laughed. "Of course I do father! Please send my best to Jason and Misty. We're about to head to a new planet, Boros has already visited four and has done so much to change those worlds for the better, I can promise you he has! I will call again soon. I must keep an eye on him as well. Take care Father!"

The connection was lost before Genus could question why Gene was keeping a close eye on Boros. Nevertheless, is son his healthy, happy and safe, it's all that mattered to him.

He began to reflect on it all now. Had he continued the house of evolution, he wouldn't know this joy. He wouldn't have felt the satisfaction that he has accomplished ever since he abandoned his work, but also, at the same time, he feared he would have fallen just as his other clones have who became far too ambitious in hunting down Garou and his family.

He was content with his life now, a proud father, still a brilliant mind, and he works with someone who appreciates and understands his unique view and respect his thoughts and work.

"Genus, did the communicator go off?"

He snapped out of his daze as Alley returned. "Oh, yes, indeed. It was my son Gene, just checking in to say he is doing well. He and Boros have already gone to four planets by the sounds of it and have changed them for the better it appears."

Alley smiled and nodded. "I've been following them as far as I could. I just lost their signal three days ago. I found the planets they went to, they have been completely terra formed. Once barren, they are now lush again with life."

"Remarkable."

"I doubt Boros could have done it without your son's help. They make quite a team."

Genus smiled and nodded. "Well, shall we continue our work? We are still studying this alien slime are we not?"

"Indeed, I do have a question… are you capable of cloning a single limb? Like an arm?" she asked.

Genus suddenly appeared interested…


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Whoa…."

"Yeah… whoa…" Snek said as he followed the words of his sons Pythan and Bo. They paused and turned to Drax. "You were amazing"

"Drax hunts good as a human!" said Angie.

His son laughed. "Those were actors sis. I didn't really kill anyone in that movie."

"Still, wow, no wonder Amai wanted you in it. You held your own." Snek said. He just understood the premise of the film. Amai Mask was one of the best fighters in the world but gets kidnapped into an underground organization. He is at the bottom of a labyrinth, and has to fight his way to the top in order to win his freedom. On the fifth floor, he comes across Drax. Despite him being so young, Drax told him that he came to find his father two years ago, he's been going through each and ever level carefully in hopes of discovering where he has gone and if he is still alive.

The two team up and fight their way through the masses. Snek didn't want to admit it, but Drax and Amai were a very capable duo. He loved the twist at the end where they learned that Drax's father character was the one who lured his son into the labyrinth in order to toughen him up to take over his underground organization. His final task was to kill Amai Mask.

The two had an epic battle, Drax appeared to have gotten the upper hand when a snap was heard. One assumed that he broke Amai's neck to win. The father sung his praises to his son as he went to check over the corpse. Only to have Amai jump him, the father was beaten to death, yet wondered what the snap was. He turned to Drax who broke his own wrist to give the illusion that he had broken Amai's neck.

With the mastermind dead, Drax was offered to join Amai. Who happened to be a bounty hunter as well, never calling one place home and was on the hunt for his next prey. The movie ended when Drax smiled and said. "Where do we go next?"

"Wow, Drax is strong, he went hiya! And then, he kicked that guy through a wall! And then…" Bo went on and on as he talked about all the action scenes. They were getting up to leave when Flip came rushing in. "Oh good, you didn't leave yet… slight problem… people found out you were here since they saw your dad…"

"Great… this again…" Drax muttered.

"What again?" asked Snek.

"Well. Let's say Amai thinks I can draw just as big of a crowd as he can now…"

Snek paused, his son has become a sought after young actor! And the ladies love him! '_Damn, I got in the wrong business_' he thought.

"They are gathered outside and at the emergency exit…" Flip said, but then a smirk came over him. "Unfortunately for them, they don't know about the staff passageway!"

"You're awesome man" Drax said with great sincerity.

"Hey, you got my friends and I to the movie premiere, all of them work here, it's the least we can do!"

Flip took the lead as he guided them up the stairs towards the booth, there was a door that led them to the film room, but then he pointed to a door at the back. "This will take you to the staff room, and the staff room exit is on the other side."

Snek paused as he took out his phone, a call for a drone was needed, they should be able to time it just right as they walk out the drone will be ready to take them home. "Okay we got to move" Snek announced.

Flip picked up the pace as the led through down the hall to the staff room. Peering out the window, Snek nodded as the drone landed. "Let's go!" he called. They rushed out, Drax just got on the drone as the legion of fans came running in a mad dash!

"DRAX! DRAX! LET ME TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU!"

"I'M THE WEBMASTER FOR YOUR FAN CLUB'S HOME PAGE, I NEED A GOOD SHOT!"

"NO, LET ME TOUCH YOU PLEASE! YOU'VE BEEN NEAR AMAI MASK! YOU SMELL LIKE HIM TOO!"

"Then again, I think I am glad I stuck with being a hero…" Snek muttered as the drone took to the skies.

Drax sighed aloud. "I can't even do hero work anymore, those fan girls follow me everywhere!"

He paused as he felt his siblings held on a little tighter. "You okay… oh shit… we forgot our jackets!"

Despite the cold in the air, Snek and Drax managed, but the kids… not so much. Snek was quick to tuck them into his sweater, their chilled bodies sent a shiver down his spine. "I'm so sorry!" he said. They were in such a rush to get out. They forgot their jackets.

"We better get them home." Drax said as he followed suit.

#

"CUT! Perfect!"

Amai sighed. They were just starting to film the beauty and the beast movie, and he wasn't about to admit, it was going far smoother than he anticipated. They have gone from one scene to another flawlessly, Latina was perfect in each take. Never flubbing her lines and ensured her voice was tone needed to set the scene.

"Amai, you are wonderful! We are going to have to CGI the next scene though. You will be battling a monster to save her…"

His stomach then churned and rumbled.

The whole crew froze to the sound, as Amai appeared rather flustered. "I do apologize, I haven't eaten in a few days."

"A few days?!" the director demanded.

"Indeed, I don't need to consume every single day, merely when I am hungry enough, besides. I do not wish to appear to be a fat serpent for the camera." Suddenly a notion came over Amai. "Well if we are to be doing a scene like that, perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone here… May I make a call?"

The director was rather stunned to the idea but nodded. Amai took out his phone and made the call. "Hello… I have a strange favor to ask…"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Why did I agree to this again?"

Street stood before Amai with a profession studio camera on his shoulder. "It's to take an action shot that would other wise requite CGI, and they cannot do me justice in CGI form!" he protested.

"Uh… huh… So I take it you want me to film you taking that down and eating it?" Street question as he pointed to a rather lumbering monster coming down the street. This section of the city was cleared out ahead of time thanks to Alley's advance system warning. So it would be a very unhindered hunt.

"Indeed, please get my good side, I need a nice wide angle shot for the death coil, and also some intense shots of me strangling the life from it. Then… if you don't mind, please don't film me really eating it, but as it fills me that is fine."

"I ain't getting paid enough for this man," Street sighed as he mounted the camera. He was able to adjust the zoom and got the frame right, but he found the detail it was picking up rather lack luster. "Screw this, I'll film it my way!" He put the camera down and told Amai to go on. "I'm recording it now, so get going!"

With a nod, Amai went in. The struggle barely lasted ten minutes yet he had to make it look like it was difficult. After all it was going into the movie!

Street kept the right angles, ensuring the got the shots needed. Then when it came to eating, he focused away from his face yet kept sight of his body as it began to bulge and grow with the monster shifting down into his stomach.

When he gave the final swallow, he turned back to Amai's face as he looked to his left oddly. Then his eyes rolled back and passed out.

"Cut." Street said sarcastically.

"Was that good?" he asked snapping up from his little scene.

"I doubt you are doing a retake to say the least." Street said. "Can you move?"

He got up with ease and stretched himself out. "Simply," he said without a care. "This is but a mere tiger level threat, they aren't that filling but shall do in a pinch, after all, I am still filming."

"You actors and your diets…" Street muttered. "Okay then." He tugged on his ear, Amai was started as the ear appeared to be nothing more than a small latch, that opened up to the side of Street's head! Street pushed down on a small portion and a flash drive came out! He passed it along to Amai. "Your scene" he said. "High quality like your camera there, but broader spectrum. I'm out"

Street left before Amai could even utter a thank you, but that's beside the point. He wanted to find something more meaningful to do to day, he never anticipated being a movie camera for Amai Mask!

#

The days flew by, as the scene was perfect according to the director. They continued on with the film, yet there was one part of it that troubled Amai the greatest. It was a scene, the girl has fallen ill and he was tending to her. As she recovered, she confessed to him that no one has ever taken the time to help her, to assist her when she needed it. Let alone offer a hand in her greatest time of need but him. "How can you be a monster, when you are so willing to help me?" she asked. Her hand clasped into his gently. "If you allow it, I will stay with you for as long as you'll have me." She whispered.

The scene ends when Amai closes the door leans against it and sighs.

It's the one that has bothered him the most. "What's wrong? Is it not hitting the right tone for you?" the director asked.

"No, it's not," he paused and then nodded. "It needs a song."

People froze. "A song? I thought one of the agreements you put into place was that you not sing as a serpent," the director stated. "Do you wish to erase that?"

"Let's try it first, if I believe it fits the movie, then yes, if it doesn't work to my satisfaction we will erase it completely. Is that agreeable?"

"Indeed, how long do you need…"

"I already wrote it."

A pause came over the director as he nodded. "There will be no music, is this fine as well?"

"I already wrote the music and have the sound track with me…"

This took everyone by surprise, he has been considering this for some time hasn't he? With a nod Amai was given time to prepare, he listened over the track ten times before he announced he was ready.

They set the scene once more as he closed the door to the Latian's room. The track played, the set went silent…

"What makes you stay?

When I tried to push you away.

Yet each and every time I do

The refusal to leave always come through

If this is your desire

Then perhaps my life will be so much finer

But is this enough?

Is this truly right?

What if you suddenly fear me

Or we have a massive fight?

It's been years since anyone has looked upon my face

People have turned and screamed

Never looking beyond the scale they see

I am but a man

Trapped in this body in distant land

Yet why is it out of the blue

The one who sees me is only you.

I can make this your home!

I will make certain you are never alone

Together, forever in a darkened world

You have become my light and even more

But is it enough?

Will this do?

What if you want to see the world beyond the walls?

What if this grace of mine falls.

To be tempted by the faiths

To have it all and remain in place

But is it fair for her to be

Trapped by the curse that is bound to me

This body is a disgrace

My heart's in chains

I can't even look at my own face…

It's not enough.

It's not fair to her

To hide her in the walls just so I can be heard.

It's not enough

She needs to leave

Or she will be a prisoner here

Just like…. Me…."

The song finished. Amai looked about to see the reaction. He was rather surprised that even the director was shedding a tear. "Is it… okay?" he asked.

Many just nodded their heads to him. "We shot that, right?" the director called.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It took a little time to warm the kids back up, yet they were up and about before Snek knew it. Thanks to the electric blankets Melee happened to have on hand. Snek and Drax got them all reheated in no time. "Sorry guys, we had to leave in a hurry." Drax said as his little siblings came too.

"People are scary," whispered Angie. "Why did they want Drax?"

Snek smiled to it all as Drax tried to explain things. "When someone sees you on the really big TV, and you are with someone like Amai Mask. They tend to group you together with him, I've become a movie star… damn it!" cursed Drax.

Snek on the other hand was laughing it up. "The price of fame huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding…"

With the kids all better, they unleashed them to slither about as best they could. Yet, they were also too full to really go anywhere! Snek smirked as the kids tried, but soon gave up on the notion. Instead they turned back to Snek and wanted up again. "Of course you do…" he said with a sigh.

He got two on the couch and just as he was reaching for the last of them, the front door opened. "BABIES!"

Instantly their eyes widened. "LUNA, LUNA, LUNA!"

"My God, they love that girl," Snek muttered.

Luna found them and was smiling the biggest grin. "Hi babies, oh look at you, you got fed recently didn't you?" She picked up Pythan and Bo who were still on the ground. She was quick to snuggle them as they lapped up the love.

"Our turn! Our turn!" Protested Angie and Conna. Snek tried to do the same but they refused him. "No, Luna!" they protested.

Snek sighed as he lost out, Luna on the other hand smiled as she called out her coiled serpent. They were quick to pick up Conna and Angie as she brought them in close to her. "Oh, you guys are getting big!" she said cheerfully. "You are going to get big and strong like Drax and your daddy!"

"They are stronger than me right now" Snek muttered. "Say, where are your brother and sister?"

"Oh, they went out. They got some sort of lessons going on. I came back from mine. We're learning music and playing instruments. I can play the piano and keyboard to say the least, but I am curious to the guitar and bass." She explained.

Luna made her way to the couch and sat next to Snek as the kids continued to cuddle her.

"Luna, we saw a BIG TV today!" Bo said.

"They saw a movie," he whispered to her.

She smiled and humored them. "Wow, you did! What was it like?" she asked.

They went on and on as to how big the TV was, how Drax got into it and yet sat next to them. He was really good at fighting even thought he had two legs and wasn't a snake. "Also, look at papa!" Pythan stated.

Luna smiled. Her mother already sent her a message earlier about Snek being turned human once more. "I see that, how is Papa throughout all of this?"

Snek smirked. "Well the month is going to fly by that for sure," he said with a sigh. "I need to so some fun stuff with Drax."

"We want to do fun stuff too!" protested Angie.

"YEAH!" the other three chimed in.

"How the hell did your parents do this?" Snek muttered to Luna.

She merely smiled to him. "You would have to ask them" she teased.

'_I was afraid you would say that…_' Snek thought.

Drax came out from his room a short time later. He called in a favor to Flip. "He's going to meet me at the base of the mountain with our jackets. Thank God for that kid huh?" he said with a smirk.

Snek nodded in agreement, but then thought of something. "Say… Drax, have you been called back from the Neo Heroes?" he asked.

He shook his head. "I've tried calling them, they haven't gotten back to me. Doesn't help that Bad is still out and about trying to hunt down Pac to bring home. Master Bang they are keeping a very close eye on apparently. Child Emperor and Darkshine are busy within the Neo Heroes so, I really don't have anyone to watch my back. My old squad is still training hard, but they refuse to go back on patrol until they feel they are strong enough to do it."

"Smart kids."

"No kidding," Drax said, but then paused. "Hey dad… you want to go to that new indoor water park that opened up in City Q?"

"Water park?" asked Pythan. "What's a water park?"

Drax smirked. "It's a place that looks like a very, very big swimming pool, but indoors so you can swim and not have to worry about the cold." He explained.

The kid's eyes widened, even Luna appeared interested. "Water park…" she whispered with excitement. "YES!" she announced. "Let's go to the water park!"

She got the four excited for it. Snek sadly had to pop the bubble on this. "Whoa, we're not going today!" he said.

Instantly the excitement was lost. "Oh… why?" asked Luna.

Drax snickered. "First off, I show up, you ain't going to be swimming. Not to mention, they won't like my little siblings in since they are serpents… at least, not when the public is there. Amai has booked the place for the staff and crew of the movie he is on now. He figured it would be a good place to relax… not to mention a place that can fit him. We're going in two days. He said I can see if anyone in the family wants to go too. So, we will go then, sounds good?" he asked.

Luna sighed. "I guess I can wait two days." She said with a slight huff to her tone.

_'My God she still can act like a child_' Snek thought but smirked. It was part of her charm anyways. She knows when she can and can't by the looks of it!

Drax paused as his phone went off, he excused himself as Snek decided the kids needed to go down for a nap. Yet, before he could announce it, they passed out on Luna. "Damn, again…" he muttered.

Luna didn't mind the least bit.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Alley was at it again.

At the lab she has been going through the standard procedures on basic cloning thanks to Dr. Genus. However he was curious about this. "I have never cloned a single limb before…" he said. "Well… perhaps I have but that was years ago"

"Well we are doing it now. Let's see what we got!" She managed to get the DNA from not just Iaian, but also Blue Fire. Apparently her father tore his arm off when he was going through his first monster stage in life. So with that, Alley got to work. She managed to figure out a basic program and control how much of the cloning process would occur. With two separate tanks, she injected the DNA needed and got to work. As she did, from the corner of her eye, she saw Genus look on with great amazement. In a mere three hours, Alley had two arms fully formed and ready to use!

"Remarkable, well done!"

"Now the tricky part…" she said. She emptied out the contents until the limbs remained, there was twitching in them, which meant the nerves are working. But how to reattach them to the body is going to be a little difficult. Not the process but the people.

Taking out her phone she paged aloud. "Will Blue Fire and Iaian please come to the main lab, Blue Fire and Iaian,"

She waited.

The two heroes appeared within ten minutes. Iaian was the first to arrive. Blue Fire then appeared. He wasn't the least bit impressed either. "What is this?" he demanded. "I am not looking for an assignment Brawler!"

Iaian glared at him. "Show more respect for the woman who has given you a job!"

He sneered. "You may have lost your arm to an alien, but I lost mine to her father!" he snapped back.

"Then you are getting it back because of me!" she snapped back. The two heroes froze.

"Alley, what do you mean?" Iaian asked.

She stepped off to the side and revealed the limbs she just cloned. The two men froze as the limbs twitched. "Fresh out of the cloning chamber, your new arm!" she said proudly.

Yet the two heroes were startled at the sight.

Blue Fire in particular looked ill. "Uh… is that… really?" he asked.

"Yes, both are functioning limbs. Cloned from the blood from your last health inspection. However they will not last long unless they are attached to the body" chimed Genus. "We might as well work quickly and get them on you as soon as we can."

"Wait, wait, we don't get a choice in this?!" demanded Blue.

"So… you DON'T want your arm back?" Alley asked.

"I never said that!" he protested. "I just don't trust it coming from you!"

Alley glared, even a low growl escaped from her. "Alley…" Iaian stepped forward. "How does this work?"

"I will admit it is very minimal, in fact you won't even need surgery or recovery time besides a few hours if that… more than likely a few minutes would do." She said. Iaian was fascinated. "You see, before Boros left… alien I adopted, got hold of some alien tech to say the least. Left behind a genetic blue print to create slime. Dr. Genus and I have spent time perfecting this process, thanks to him it has come to pass now! This slime can consume limbs like this, and will find its proper owner and attach itself to said host. You will regain your arm nearly instantly. I will have to skin the stump though so that will be a little painful." She explained.

Blue Fire appeared sick. "A slime?" he demanded.

Genus then came over with the jar. He showed the cleared substance inside but it started to move on its own. "This." He explained. "Instant limb reattachment. So gentlemen, are we doing this?"

Blue Fire didn't appear convinced, however Iaian stepped forward. "I will." He said.

Alley smiled. "Take off your shirt, I will make this fast I promise."

He gulped his pride as he took off his armor and then black shirt underneath. She and Genus looked over the stub on his arm, Genus made a marking, suggesting she take almost an inch off the stub. She nodded in agreement as Genus went to the limb and poured the slime onto it. They watched with fascination as the arm slowly dissolved into the substance, then the slime began to look twitchy. "Ready?" she asked.

Iaian nodded.

Alley grew her out her own claw, with finesse and quickness. She took the inch off. Iaian help back his scream as the slime jumped and latched on! The blood loss was minimal which was good, but she kept a close eye on him as the slime took a moment. It drew out the blood and then, started to form. Iaian couldn't hold back his scream that time as the limb slowly but surly returned. It was all done within five minutes.

Iaian was sweating, yet he turned to his left and saw his arm again!

He froze to it, testing the limb out and its fingers. "Alley…" he said with great disbelief.

"How does it feel? Natural?" she asked.

He merely nodded his head. "It… feels weird. I am connected to it and yet, I feel as if it isn't even there."

"This is the best part. If you want to, like my uncles, they can retract their slime so if you want to fight with one arm, you are able to, also this!" Without warning, Alley cut off his hand! As his hand dropped to the ground, Blue Fire freaked out!

"You bitch! He just got his limb back!" he shouted.

Iaian however wasn't stunned or in shock from the attack, instead, he kept starting at the stub oddly. No blood came out of it, which was strange too. "I didn't feel any pain…" he said.

"Reach down and pick up your hand." Alley said.

He was caution but did that, he reached down and picked up the severed hand, it turned back into slime and jumped from his hand to the stub… then his hand reformed! "Alley… this is amazing!"

"You're not a man that is impressed easily, that's a compliment to me," she said with a grin. Her sight then turned to Blue Fire. "You want your arm back?" she asked.

He sneered at her, however given the results, his head nodded.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It took merely two weeks to film the movie. Amai was relieved it was nearly done, they just have to wait for the grand finally when he is turned human once more. For now, it was a day of fun at the new water park in City Q.

The place was massive.

"This waterpark here is equal to twenty Olympic swimming pools." The guide explained before they entered. "So needless to say that's a lot of water!"

After the tour, they were given the go ahead to jump in and swim. Amai even took part of the swim and found the water temperature perfect! Snek on the other hand was in the kiddie pool with his brood teaching them how to swim! Bo and Conna took to it right away. Pythan and Angie not so much. "Flatten your bodies and then slither," Snek instructed.

They tried but still couldn't quite get the hang of it. Their siblings did as best as they could to help out but it appeared to be a lost cause. Fortunately there was Alley and her little serpent life jackets she just made for the occasion!

Drax invited the whole family to come, even Garou and the Brawler brothers much to the cringe of Amai.

Everyone appeared to be content as they splashed about in the water. Snek's kids kept to the shallow end and swam about happily. Snek even smiled as they kids did a very strange looking doggie paddle back and forth in the water. "Awww! They are SO CUTE!" Latina said with great joy as she admired them from the side of the pool. Her feet dangled in the water as she wore a light blue swimsuit to the event. Needless to say many of the guys were well aware of her great figure! "What are their names?" she asked of Snek.

He gave a brief introduction to the kids. "These four are mine, don't ask how they came out." He warned.

"May I hold one?" she asked.

"Ask them, just be careful, sometimes they bite."

Latina peered over. "Can I hold one of you for a moment please?" she asked.

Bo obliged as he swam over to her. She picked him up and out of the water gently and smiled. "You are SO CUTE!" she said and gave him a small hug. When she put him down, the other three came over wanting the same attention! Latina was more than happy to oblige and gave them all a quick snuggle before putting them back in the water.

"You have a lovely family." She said with great sincerity.

Snek smiled as he began to play with the kids. Drax even got them into a game, they get picked up and launched out of the water and land back into it with a big splash. They loved it!

This went on for a while. Until Snek's arms were getting tried as were Drax!

In two hours people appeared to have their fill of the water, which prompted Garou to take action.

"SPLASH CONTEST!" Garou shouted.

"I TOLD YOU NO! YOU WON'T WIN!" Melee snapped back. "Don't you listen, you never decree a splash contest when my brothers are here!"

Garou smirked. "Please, your brothers can't possibly beat me"

Melee however shook her head to it all. "Your funeral." She began to gather the family up and insisted they sit this one out. "Unless you want to get swept away stay here."

"Seriously mom?" asked Draven, but the stern look she gave only made it clear.

She was not joking!

Others heeded her warning as they came out of the water but kept near Melee "SNEK!" she called. He quickly gathered the kids up and got them out.

"Baby bro got a death wish?" came the voice to Knuckle. "Far be it from me to refuse a splash contest. You are looking at the cannonball champion!"

"Yeah, but I can weigh more than you at any given moment!"

"Whatever, you of all people should know it's all in the technique!"

#

Amai intended on keeping watch in the farthest part of the pool in the shallow end as the boys gathered up to do their splash contest, when Melee called. "GET OUT OF THE POOL!" she scolded.

He waved her off. "Please, a mere splash contest will not do anything to affect me. Not to mention I am the farthest away from them…" Amai said to himself with a smirk.

But he began to have second thoughts the moment Melee put her esper barrier up. '_She is serious isn't she?_' he thought.

The first to go was Goliath to say the least. He did a pretty good job, Amai got splashed from where he watched. Second was Draven, Akira even Luna got in on it! The last of the kids to go up was Hunter, had this been a normal contest there was little doubt Garou's children could win hands down in any other situation. All not bad to say the least, then Garou… Garou smirked as he took to the high dive and appeared to brag. "Knuckle… watch and learn!" he shouted.

Garou managed to fly himself a little higher to the roof, Garou then dropped at the same time growing himself out as he cannonballed!

SLASH!

Amai was nearly taken out of the pool!

That was rather impressive!

Garou emerged out and appeared victorious, yet his smile vanished the moment he saw Melee and she shook her head to him. Knuckle was next, Street kept behind the esper barrier as suddenly he heard music. The flight of the Valkyries began to plan for some reason.

"What on earth?" Amai wondered.

Then it happened. Knuckle merely leaned over off the high diving board, and then contorted into a cannonball. When he hit the water… well…

Amai is still trying to figure out how he and Garou ended up outside of the facility…

#

He came too a few hours later.

Amai's head was swimming as it where as he woke up at Garou's house covered in heating blankets. "Huh?" he muttered. "How did I…"

"Winter weather and swimming pool water don't mix,"

He looked about and found Melee lingering in his room. However he was stunned when a hand came over his own. To his left she sat there, with a smile on her face. "Oh thank God, I was so worried!"

"Latina?" he asked.

"Wouldn't leave your side until you woke up again. She panicked the moment you passed out." Melee explained.

"How was I to know he could recover so fast from this!?" she protested. "Not to mention, he's serpent… he could have frozen to death!"

"He nearly did the first time he became a serpent. Then again that was his own stupidity. He also had that warming slime on his body, which braced him for the cold this time around. He would have been fine," Melee insisted. However the worry in Latina's eyes didn't vanish. She kept turning to Amai with a very concerned look.

"Are you certain you are safe here?" she asked.

He gave a small laugh to it. "Of course, despite how it appears, I am well taken care of to say the least," he insisted. He paused. "I don't believe we ever had dinner together… would you like to join me?" he asked.

She was taken aback by his offer, but she smiled warmly. "I would be delighted."

"You can join us tonight. It's too cold for you to go anywhere right now Amai. Knuckle's splash ruined your jacket Alley made. She is repairing it now to say the least."

Amai sighed and nodded in agreement. Latina also agreed. "Can I help in anyway to prepare the meal?"

"Of course! Let's get started." Melee announced.

Yet somehow, Amai could help but feel there was something more going on. Melee normally never accepts help in the kitchen…


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Melee was going to make a smorgasbord tonight.

Little bits of anything and everything, however, there was something else on the menu that she needed to add.

Latina has been eying Amai oddly as of late, it wasn't a typical googly eye, star struck gaze, but a sincere, heartfelt look of love. Perhaps it was time Amai found someone who liked him for him. So far, Latina has been there for him. Although she just started as an actress, Melee could feel there was something more to her. "So, have you been acting for very long?" Melee asked.

"Small roles here and there, but the movie I am in now with Amai is my first biggest role to date. I mean… it's Amai Mask!" she said with great excitement. "I never thought I would ever earn the opportunity to work with someone like him."

"Even though he's a snake?" she asked with a smirk.

Latina smiled. "I was one of the few actresses that didn't freak out when I learned he was going to do a movie in the state he was in. I don't mind the least bit to be honest…" she paused, as she appeared to check the room and ensured no one else was there. She whispered to Melee. "I've always likes snakes… I got a tattoo of one on my back."

Melee was curious now as Latina pulled up the back of her shirt and revealed the snake tattoo. It appeared like a python, yet with vivid colors. "Ooo!" Melee said with great interest. "In that case, he's right up your alley!"

She smiled at first, but it was quick to vanish. "I doubt I am good enough for him." Her perky tone turned into one of pity. "I mean… Amai Mask… THEE Amai Mask… what do I have to offer him?"

'Oh God, I've been there…' Melee thought. But she smiled. "So far, you have offered him a lot more than anyone else." She explained. "I know you see the fan girls wig out over him, even when he's a serpent like this. But have any of them helped him when he was in need like you did? The moment he passed out, your rushed to him with all the towels you could carry. Trying everything in your power to warm him up. When the fan girls saw him, they took pictures."

Latina nodded.

"But he didn't know I did anything… but that's okay. I am not doing it to get his attention. It was the right thing to do…" she said and sighed.

"Damn, you got it bad…" Melee said and chuckled.

The young actress flushed with red. "Please! Not a word! I beg of you!" she pleaded. "I don't want Amai to think I am someone weird like that! I mean… Please don't say anything…" he begged.

Melee merely nodded her head, however the smile only grew. "Too bad you didn't have hearing like mine, that guy has been listening to us ever since we started to prep dinner!"

Latina went white.

"He has…." She whispered.

"You going to come out now or are you waiting for something more dramatic to happen!" she called.

Amai slowly slinked out from behind the wall, he didn't say anything but Latina was blushing with embarrassment. "I didn't mean…"

"It's okay…" he said gently. "I… didn't quite know how to approach you on the matter either. You… haven't been like the others I have worked with. There truly is magic between us on camera… but I feel it more off screen."

This even got Melee's attention. "Go on…" she insisted.

"Melee, if you please," Amai said begrudgingly. He turned his attention to Latina once more. "I… haven't felt something like this in a while," he confessed. "In fact… I haven't felt like this since Melee."

She froze and turned to Melee who merely smirked. "When I first worked with Amai has his personal assistant, I did have a crush on him. Yet, never knew how to express it… but the harder I worked, the more I found he rather have me as an assistant than someone else. At least, that's what I thought so. He NEVER expressed his true feelings for me until I met Garou."

Amai turned away embarrassed to the notion. "Indeed. Garou won her heart before I could even offer her mine. However, I don't wish to make the same mistake again."

"Oooo" Melee cooed.

Amai gave her this 'butt out' glare, she was quick to quite herself down and allow them to continue. "You… like me?" Latina asked. "But… but I have done nothing for you… I mean… we're co workers… I don't even know what you would see in someone like…."

She didn't see him slink over to her, by the time she realized he stood beside her, Amai leaned in and kissed her.

Melee even felt that one!

There was chemistry there, that or perhaps her senses were just higher than the average person and she could smell this one coming a mile away. Yet, when they continued to kiss more and more it grew tiresome.

"Okay, get a room you two, Amai you've literally filled the kitchen with yourself!" There was nowhere to move, he was all over the place!

The two stopped, pulling away from each other Amai smiled, as did Latina. They giggled like teenagers to what they just did. "I must admit… I didn't think I could find someone like you. You remind me a lot of Melee when she was younger…"

"HEY!" Melee snapped back.

Latina smiled. "I would take that as a compliment. I will keep this a secret if you want."

"When I turn human again, you and I will announce it together!"

"In the mean time, please, Amai… get the hell out of the kitchen"

#

"Whoa…"

"Yeah…."

"Pay up!"

"DAMN IT!"

The guys had all gathered in the computer room, watching everything go down from afar. Alley did put in a security system for safety, yet it has become more of a reality TV show for Garou and the guys. They were placing bets on this Latina girl, Draven said he could feel there was something between the two. Snek agreed. "Sweet girl, but I don't know if he would go for her." He said.

"I think he will." Said Draven.

"Too young, she naïve to say the least," muttered Garou.

"400 yen says she isn't and he is going to kiss her." Draven called.

"You're on!" said Garou. "Add 100 more that he puts her down gently."

They watched on until Amai went in for the kiss. "Damn it!" everyone but Draven announced.

His hand went out as the money was quickly placed into it. "About damn time I win a bet…" he muttered and counted his winnings.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The weeks flew by.

Sooner than later, it was Christmas Eve.

Melee was preparing for the company, she invited Bang, Saitama, Genos and Zenko to Christmas dinner so they have some place to be. Bang thanked her but insisted he was fine, he would be visiting his brother for the holidays anyways. Zenko was more than happy to accept, considering her brother has yet to return. It was nearly two months since he left to find Pac. Melee could only wonder if the two were okay.

Saitama was a little reluctant to accept considering the last time he came, he was woken up at the butt crack of dawn thanks to Hunter. But, he wasn't going to pass up on the free food to say the least.

She made certain there was plenty, Amai even invited Latina to come and she accepted full heartedly!

She was just making the final preparations, Zenko came over earlier with Rover to help her, Rover however was running amuck, however took a liking to Snek's kids and played with them!

Zenko was about to help plate up some snacks when the front door burst open. "KNOCK FOR GOODNESS SAKE KNUCKLE!" she shouted.

"HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Melee froze, even Zenko froze as he walked it.

"BIG BROTHER BAD!" she rushed out from around the table and into her brother's arms. Bad hugged her back full heartedly as he shed a tear as well.

"Hey little sis, I wasn't going to leave you alone at Christmas!"

She held on to him a little while longer, Melee smile to it all but sighed, as she didn't see her son. She was about to go back to prepping the meal when she saw another set of hands already starting to help. Slowly she followed them up to the face, she stopped and saw Pac standing next to her. "Hi mom…" he said meekly.

Melee stopped what she was doing and pulled him into her arms. "Pac!" she cried. "I'm so glad to see you safe…" but she paused. "Wait…" pulling back she looked into her son's eyes. There was light back in them, and the smile was genuine. "Are you okay? Did you get the time you needed…"

His hand gently came over hers as she held his face. "I did," he said. "That asshole over there wouldn't leave me alone until I figured stuff out." He said and gestured over to Bad.

"He ain't easy to find!" Metal Bat protested. "Took me nearly the whole month tracking him down!"

Melee was confused. "How on earth did you track him!?" she demanded.

Bad shrugged. "Dunno, maybe I'm part bloodhound or something."

Melee didn't care how he did it, but her family would be home for the holidays!

They continued on with the meal, she had Zenko and Pac have some time to themselves as she continued on the prep work. When everyone else began to arrive, they were stunned to see Pac had returned. None more so than Garou. He dropped everything in his arms and was quick to pull his son into his embrace. "You scared your old man you know that!" he protested. "Shit…" even tears escaped the human monster, which had Pac cry as well.

It wasn't long until her brothers showed up, then Latina, Genos and Saitama were the last to arrive for the night. Then again, Saitama usually has perfect timing, just as the food is about ready to serve, he arrives!

The table was extended, the meal set out as Melee couldn't help but feel the warmth of the season. "I got to say something!" called Lighting Max. He stood up and turned to the table. "Now… I have said this many times before. Melee, Garou, I have no idea where Snek, Suiryu and I would have been if it weren't for you two. Even now, with all that has happened, what we have become and the newest edition added to the family… I honestly couldn't imagine a better life for myself like this."

"Here here!" said Suiryu

"I got to admit that too…" said Snek as he held Bo on his lap. The other three were spread out to Luna, Akira and Eclipsa.

"So, let me say that this Christmas, has to be one of the best one possible… I mean… look around here at the table. Were among friends, family and even former enemies!" Max proclaimed as everyone somehow stared at Amai. "But also, something special has happened this year too. Melee… you have your brothers back, their first Christmas in God knows how many years." He explained.

She wept and nodded.

"Oh sis…" said Street in an endearing tone.

"So with that, let's toast to the holidays, to family and friends may we all be happier and healthier in the New Year, and may this be one of our best Christmases ever!"

"CHEERS!"

The table toasted as the meal began.

Melee merely listened as she heard the sounds of her children laughing, the food being savoured and enjoyed, her brothers laughing it up with Suiryu and Genos. Knuckle was determined to find a way to get Genos to laugh at something! Saitama was eating as much as he could and the kids caught up with their brother.

It really was the perfect holiday for her.

#

New Years.

Amai sighed aloud as he was finally able to get rid of his promise for at least another year. The time was drawing close as he once more kept outside to it all. Snek joined him with a drink in hand. "So, we will plan this a lot better next time. Agreed?" Amai said as he took the drink.

"Yeah… got to admit that was hilarious!"

"For you perhaps" Amai muttered. "I do admit, I don't mind doing this, it is a nice break for me from every day life. However I do wish to be able to fit into my own bed once more… and not worry about going through a hotel floor!"

Snek laughed it up as he remembered that. "Yeah, defiantly plan it better next time."

The countdown was on.

Snek was checking his watch as the alarm went off. The two toasted and took their drinks.

Yet something was wrong.

"12…0….1…" Snek said but checked himself over. "Uh… you feeling any different?"

Amai looked over himself. He was still serpent. "No…" he said and froze.

Garou came out of the house. "I better get them, they are probably both knocked out by now!" he shouted through the door. Yet as he approached, his steps became fewer and fewer.

"What the hell is this!?" he demanded.

"Garou… has something happened? I… we're not changing back!" Amai said, his voice was panicked now. "You promised me, only ONE month! ONE MONTH!" he protested.

"I didn't change the rules!" Garou snapped back. He turned to Snek who was no different than before. Even he was concerned.

"Uh… what's happened to us?" Snek asked.

Not even Garou knew, but something wasn't right about it…


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The next day they were at the lab at the Association. Alley and Genus were going over the blood work and yet Alley was concerned. "Have either one of you been attacked recently? Jumped and struck with something or by something? Anyone bled?" she asked.

The two heroes shook their heads to her. "I haven't had any problems, I haven't been struck hard enough to bleed." Amai explained.

"The least time I was attacked was at the beginning of the month, I admit I passed out, but Knuckle and Street were there the moment I hit the wall… don't think anything weird happened after that."

"Well there are abnormalities to your blood. Both of you!" Genus announced. "It has seemed to over power Garou's soothsaying power somehow, and yet it is ensuring you remain in the same states you are in now." He explained.

"Well then fix it!" Amai demanded. "I refuse to be a monster much longer!"

Alley crossed her arms and glared at him, he just now caught himself and the error of his ways. "I'm sorry… I just have… a lot to do…"

"Uh huh…" Alley said with a sigh. "We are trying to decipher it, but the abnormalities are quite familiar, are they not Doctor?" she asked.

Genus nodded. "Same genetic blue print to say the least."

"106…" whispered Snek, but then his eyes widened. "Wait… he knows in this form I am not that strong… is… is he coming after my children?"

"Possible." Genus said. "However he has had other opportunity to do so, question is why now? Why did he not strike when you were knocked out? But as you said the Brawler Brothers interfered rather quickly did they not?"

Alley then realized something. "That's it!" she got on her phone and made a call. In twenty minutes her uncles arrived.

"Hey little lady!" Street said with a smirk.

"Uncle Street, Uncle Knuckle, I hate to ask this of you but…"

"Ah, say no more, first, let's see what we got here…" her uncles approached the screen were Alley and Genus were studying the blood samples. Knuckle was pointing out things to Street who only nodded his head to the discovery. Yet there was something more afoot about this. "Kiddo…" called Knuckle. She approached as they began to point a few things out. "What you got here, ain't chemically made by the looks of it." He said.

"What?" Alley enhanced the image, Snek and Amai took a closer look as they peered up at the screen. "What are you saying?"

"This ain't a poison at work." Street announced. "Just looking at this tells me we can't do shit about it… it's like an aura has covered their blood…"

"Wait… are you suggesting this is another soothsayer at work!?" demanded Genus.

"Whatever the hell that is," muttered Knuckle. "All we're saying is this, this ain't chemical, or viral, so we can't fix it."

"I don't need this kind of news!" Amai protested. "Perhaps this is just a laps of judgement and the transformation triggered again since I forgot to change with Snek… let's wait out the month and see…"

Alley didn't quite know what to make of it, yet she nodded to Amai's suggest. "Very well we will wait the month, anything weird that happens, you let me know the instant it does!" she demanded.

Snek nodded in agreement as he stared down at his hands. He let out a sigh since his own children have been waiting very patiently for him to turn back. They countered down the days any everything. Alley knows since she gave them a calendar to do it!

#

They stared at him.

Pac smiled oddly at Snek's kids who continued to gaze upon him curiously. "You look different." Said Bo.

"Very different, but a lot like Garou," chimed Pythan.

"I get that a lot," Pac said and tried to force a smile, but the kids have been at this for an hour or so, trying to make sense of him. They know he is Garou's son, yet he no longer looked like the rest of the family. They crawled up on to the couch until they were right beside him and on his lap.

"When are you and Zenko going to mate?" asked Conna.

That made him freeze. "Wait, what?! You're kids, how can you be asking such a thing!" he protested.

"We can smell it on her and you, you're mates!" said Angie. "She is very nice and I think she will make you a wonderful companion, so when are you two going to mate? We could have friends!"

He was blushing now. After all, when he got back, a few days later he had a very strong heart to heart conversation with her. Bad insisted upon it! He explained why he left and apologized profusely for not telling her. In return, she showed him the marking on her back that spread through her body.

He was mortified by it.

He caused such a thing to happen, and yet, she wasn't mad. "This has saved me… many times. Do you know the monsters don't even come near me anymore?" she asked. Pac was confused as Zenko explained when her brother left to find him, there was a small wolf threat that came into the city. The moment it locked eyes on her it took one sniff of the air, and then hightailed it! "It's been scaring off a lot more than monsters too. Even guys who don't take no for an answer!" she explained.

Still, Pac left her to deal with that alone, he felt like shit for doing so.

"I think… we will be good mates, but for now, I need to make sure she wants to be mine. I did something rude to her before. I left without telling her where I was going."

The four paused, as they appeared confused. "Why would you do that?" asked Angie.

"Yeah, that is rude!" protested Conna.

Of course the girls would gang up against him!

"Now, now you four leave him be" protested Draven. "Besides, I got to take you hunting!"

Their eyes widened in excitement. "HUNTING!" they cheered. The four were quick to move away from Pac and coil around Draven, yet before they could leave, Draven peered over to his brother.

"Wanna come?"

Pac smiled and nodded.

Draven began to put on a large jacket, enough to cover the four little serpents and keep them warm. Pac smirked to it, but got a stink eye from his younger brother. "Shut it" he warned. "Where's your jacket?"

"Don't need one. I spend a few months in the harshest wilderness, this cold is nothing."

The two went out to some familiar hunting grounds. From there Draven and Pac managed to wrangle up some small monsters and had them ready for the kids. They were hungry then and there, Draven was left with no other choice but to shove a dead monster into his jacket as they took turns getting their fill. By the time they finished, Draven could barely move! The jacket had been stressed out. His arms couldn't lower.

Pac thought it was hilarious!

"This… I missed this!" he said and snickered.

"Figures as much." Muttered Draven. "Jokes on you! You get to unzip me when I get home!"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

February.

No change.

Amai was at the point of stressing every single day. Nothing has changed! "This is getting ridiculous… this is UNCALLED FOR!" he shouted in the confines of his own room. "This… this shouldn't be happening to me. I made amends with Snek… I haven't gone after or harmed this family since… WHY AM I BEING PUNISHED!"

"HEY!"

Amai paused from his little tirade when Garou yelled at him from his bedroom door. "We got kids here trying to sleep! You want to go yell, take it in the woods!"

However, Amai was seething with rage. "Garou… turn me back… use your soothsaying powers and TURN ME BACK!" he demanded.

Garou's arms crossed as he leaned against the door. "Don't you think I've been trying?" he demanded.

Amai's rage suddenly lowered. "What?"

"Ever since Alley told me about this, ever since the Brawlers stated this wasn't something they could cure. I've been attempting to use my soothsaying power to change you back. Snek's been begging me too, his kids are getting rather frustrated that they don't have their old man back yet. Not to mention, they had a huge growth spurt recently. Snek wants to be there for them, they are on the cusp of turning into teenagers."

Amai sneered to the notion however he calmed himself a little realizing that the family was doing all they could to help him. "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why is this happening? How is this even happening?" he asked.

Garou shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know what to say, however for the first time he appeared to have sympathy for Amai. "Look, we are going to figure this out, we got to. I got a feeling this is the work of a notorious clone that we all know and hate with a vengeance. Question is, what does he gain from this?" Garou paused as he appeared to have been struck by a notion. "That's it…" he muttered. He turned and shouted down the halls. "FAMILY MEETING NOW!"

It was nine at night, despite the fact that Snek's kids went to bed, it didn't stop Garou from being loud.

Snek had to wiggle himself out of a small serpent pile in his room, the family gathered in the living room, Amai hung back in the hallway but listened in. "What is it? What's going on Garou?" Melee asked.

He began to pace the floor oddly, he was about to speak but paused and thought over his words. He turned to Snek and said. "Who has seen your fight?" he asked.

Snek froze to the question. "Uh…" he paused. "I haven't fought since I got my ass kicked by that demon the first day I became human. Why?" he asked.

"Don't you think it was a little odd for a monster to just HAPPEN to appear the day you turned human and are out with your kids?" he questioned.

It suddenly hit the room. "The kids…" whispered Luna. "They are after the babies!"

"Snek's children…" Amai muttered. "If that's the case then why the hell am I still like this?" he demanded.

"Because, 106 is aware of your state of mind, you don't give a damn about those kids, so you wouldn't do anything to save them if push comes to shove. However, with the way Snek is now. He isn't capable of defending his kids in this state now is he?" Garou asked.

"That son of a bitch…" Snek whispered.

Amai snorted with discontent. "Figures, and I have to suffer…"

"MY children are in danger!" Snek snapped back at him. "Suck it up!"

Melee thought it over as well and nodded in agreement to Garou's theory. Alley even assumed it was the possible reason why 106 has done this, however there is no proof or evidence that he has. "What has caused this is a soothsaying power isn't it?" she asked. "Uncle Street and Knuckle…"

"Hon, you need to remember too, there are more ways of doing this besides soothsayer power." Garou corrected. "That would be too simple. I won't deny it isn't a possibility, but we need to widen the net just in case we are assuming the wrong thing." His sights suddenly turned to Sweet Mask. "Until farther notice, you keep us posted on anything and everything going on. What's changed, what's new, perhaps a new face in your industry…"

Amai thought it over, but then paused. "Latina…" he whispered.

"Wait, you think…"

"Ever since I became this, she has not left my side!" he protested. "She has to be part of this!"

"Impossible." Stated Goliath.

"What do you mean impossible!" Amai demanded.

"Latina has a very diverse portfolio when it comes to acting, I have seen it and also the recordings of her past performances. She just broke into the main industry, she is not part of this." He said defiantly.

Amai however was suspicious about it, she came to him the day he turned, he could Goliath be so sure that she wasn't part of this?

"Either way, we protect the babies!" protested Luna.

"Question is sis, what are we protecting them from?" Akira asked. "Dad, mom, I think we need to investigate."

Garou nodded in agreement. "But I want someone with Snek and his kids at all times." He insisted.

Amai rolled his eyes to it all, he slithered back off to his room and decided to rest. Whatever is going on will hopefully end soon enough.

That or he should put an end to it himself…


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"It is most unfortunate, all other movies shall he delayed until farther notice…" Amai announced to the studio the next day. "I do apologize for the inconvenience at this time, but there are no other options…"

"Is everything okay Amai? Has something happened?" asked one of the executive producers.

He sighed aloud. "I don't know to be honest, I will learn the truth eventually, and needless to say, the one responsible will get what is coming to them!" he announced. With his peace said, he slinked out of the room. Amai sighed to it all as he was about to leave when he heard his name called.

"AMAI!"

He turned and faced Latina. She was smiling to him as she asked how he was doing and if he was well. Yet a part of him now sneered at her. "I am not back to my normal self, how do you think I feel!" he protested to her.

Her tone must have stunned him. She stepped back oddly to him. "Amai… what's wrong? How can I help you?" she asked.

"Leave me be" he said in a lowly. "Ever since I came across you I haven't been able to turn back… are you with the house of evolution!" he demanded.

"The house of what?!" she demanded. "Amai, what are you talking about?"

He hissed at her. "Don't take me for a fool!" he snapped.

This time she cowered back. "Amai…" she whispered fearfully.

His glare didn't lighten. "Until I know for certain… leave me alone" he said in a warning tone. With that, he slithered off. Amai figured if he is to turn back he will have to find the clone that has caused Garou and his family such grief. He took down the house of evolution before. He can do so again!

#

"He WHAT!"

Garou even jumped as Melee's tone suddenly spiked. Something has pissed her off to say the least and she wasn't going to hide it. "Okay… come by the house, girl chat okay?" she said and hung up the phone.

"What the hell is that about?" Garou demanded.

Melee sighed aloud. "Apparently, Amai decided that until he knows what has happened to him, he wants Latina to leave him alone… he thinks she's part of the reason why he can't turn back."

Garou smirked. "He's he that much of an idiot?" he asked. "Besides, we know it's the house of evolution crap, it's always them! Still, I am starting to think this ain't soothsaying power…"

"But didn't you say you have been using yours to counteract what's happened?" Melee asked.

Garou nodded. "Yeah, but it's a soothsaying going against the pervious one. Remember that old bat said it couldn't be fixed unless both parties did something to the other or some shit like that? There is a fail safe for those two in case Snek ever wants to break off the deal. Yet I realized when I tried to use my power again, it got bounced off. So I can't use it when something I said before is already in effect."

"Then what is it? What's making them stay this way?"

Garou shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, Snek is getting a very nice vacation out of it." He said with a smirk.

Speak of the devil…

Snek came back with a rather large toboggan of all things. His four serpent kids passed out in it, and Drax was pushing from behind. Needless to say, the four were rather full! "Really? You needed a toboggan?" Garou asked with a slight smirk.

"You try loading them on to a drone after they each at a wolf threat monster!" protested Drax. "Damn, they can eat stuff that big now!?"

Snek sighed and nodded. "Their appetites have spiked since January. I am having a hard enough time keeping them full!"

Garou rolled his eyes as he stood up, he picked up two of the kids and brought them to Snek's room. He went back for the others, Snek followed to get them all set up and tucked in before closing the door. "It's amazing, they went from like eight and now are turning into teenagers!" he said.

"Yeah. At least it's happening gradually for you. Mine, it was one to the other nearly instantly… savour it!" Garou warned. The little venture wore out the former Class A hero, he decided to take a nap within his room as best he could. Drax went to his own to practice is guitar.

Within two hours, there came a knock at the door. Melee found Latina there with tears in her eyes. "Hi…" she meekly said.

Melee brought her right into the house, with that Garou took it as his queue to leave. "I'm heading out… you ladies do… whatever the hell ladies do with girl time…"

Melee smirked as she gave a nod of thanks to him. Besides, Garou didn't know what to say in situations like this, it was all the better to leave or he could let something slip that shouldn't be spoken!


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

He had a sense as to where to go.

Amai retraced his steps as he wondered back to the former house of evolution lab. The one he saved Drax from and where Snek gained his new brood. However it was a wasteland. He made certain to destroy everything within the walls. Yet as he peered about, he sensed the footsteps. "Figures you would be here…"

He turned and saw him lingering, the dastardly clone that continues to haunt Garou and his family. "I see you have adapted well to your serpent form…"

Amai hissed. "Speak… while you still can."

106 was fearless as he approached Amai. "It appears you are… stuck in a snake skin suit." He said with a grin. "Now, how did that come about… did you eat anything strange recently?"

"What the hell are you suggesting?"

106 smirked as he came closer. "What we created was some of my best works! It took some time to do, but amazingly it functioned. Recently, with what you consumed and what Snek has consumed, its effects were better than expected."

Amai sneered as 106 continued. "We injected a monster with this concoction. Once it entered your bloodstream, it inhibited the metamorphic properties that allow you to become this and Snek to be human. Needless to say it wasn't simple, after all. This effect was to only occur to you, we used your own biology against you, and surprisingly, since you were affected like this, it affected Snek…"

"You are making less sense than usual." Amai muttered

106 grinned. "I learned to keep the best secrets to myself. So… the reason why I am here…"

"You want Snek's children."

His smile only grew. "I knew you were the smart one, but not just the children, no, no. I need something MORE than them… I want Luna Brawler!"

Amai even laughed aloud to the demand. "Luna! You want her! HAHA!" Amai cackled. "You have a death wish. And I don't mean at the hands of her parents either! Luna is more than capable of defending herself!"

"Which is why I need the children of Snek!"

Amai paused, that was it wasn't it? Lure her out with the children who have such an attachment to her. "If I refuse?" Amai asked.

106 smirked. "Then enjoy being a serpent until you are cured by Miss Brawler and my former creator…"

A sneer came over Amai Mask, there was little choice wasn't there? I have already been a serpent for nearly 3 months, the longer he remains the harder it will be to turn back, won't it?

"Where do I bring them?" Amai asked lowly.

106 merely smiled. "Just bring me the children of Snek, I am certain Luna herself will follow shortly after…" However there came a grin over him. "You know, why should I even bother doing this?" he sighed with defeat to the notion. "This venture is far too tenacious to proceed, as you yourself mentioned that the young daughter of Garou maybe too much to handle… how would you know that? Have you battled her before?" 106 asked. Amai merely sneered at the notion, but it appeared to be enough to get his point across. "Perhaps I should quite while I am ahead… Amai, I apologize for this… Here…" he tossed him a vial.

He inspected the contents before glaring at the clone. "I should believe you why?" Amai demanded.

106 shrugged his shoulders. "You shouldn't, but at the moment, I am the one who made you into this, only I could cure you quickly, correct?"

Amai glared at him, he paused as he opened the vial and took in the smell of the contents, no poison, nothing out of the ordinary than what he would expect from such a fiend to say the least. Yet he wondered why he gave him the cure so easily. "What of Snek?"

"We've been ensuring his human form through the coffee he drinks in town. How else would we make him take it so easily? Besides, even as we speak my minions are doing the same thing now, they are administering the cure to him. The sooner you drink, the sooner this will all be over, both subjects need to have this content in their bodies to remove what has trapped you both in such states."

Amai sighed, but he took the risk. He downed the cure rather quickly, instantly he felt something, such warmth spread through his core, he then began to feel his arms tingle, his mind grow fuzzy. Yes… this was it! But then, his eyes grew heavy…

#

The door closed.

Melee stood there as Latina began to weep. "What did I do wrong?" she asked.

There came a small shake of her head, Melee sighed aloud when she told Latina to sit down and calm herself. "You cannot be blaming yourself for this." She announced. "Look, I've been there, I've endured Amai for years as his personal assistant, NONE of this is your doing. Got it?"

She froze to her tone. "Why are you so upset?"

"Why the hell aren't you?" she demanded. Melee pulled up a chair as she sat across from the actress. She was a beauty there was no doubt about it, however, the problem is that she has love for Amai. Sweet does as well, yet considering what is going on, he's become paranoid. "Latina, listen, and listen well. One thing you need to know with Amai Mask is this… if it doesn't go as he planned it, if it isn't what he imagined it… it isn't right and someone is conspiring against him becomes his state of mind. Nothing you say or do will ever change his mind frame until he sorts out his own shit!" Melee said defiantly.

Latina was rendered silent to her tone. "Why…"

"Because, I think you are the one to make him feel something," she said. Melee sighed aloud. "But you are not giving yourself enough credit. You don't think that you deserve the love of a top rated hero and actor. Like all others who have come before you, but this is different. I know it's different because he looks at you the same way he looked at me and confessed that he did love me."

"Amai… loved you?" she whispered.

"Never showed it." Melee replied, her arms crossed as she sighed aloud. "The thing with men, is that emotions can either hinder them or become a weakness. I lucked out with who I got, since he's able to change. Amai… can't unless he realizes that himself."

Latina paused. "What do I do then?"

"Do exactly the opposite that you would usually do. Right now, you would be looking for him, wanting to talk to him and figure things out. I suggest you avoid him like a plagued rat!"

There was silence between the two women, Latina smiled as she shook her head to it all. "I never thought you would have such profound advice on this…"

"Not my first rodeo sweetheart" snickered Melee. "So, with that being said, how about we make him sweat a little, keep Amai away for a while and see what happens. Besides, boys like him don't tend to learn easily."

She snickered and agreed.

The two spent the rest of the day talking about life, Latina was very curious to Melee and how her family came about. When she got the full story, she was nothing more than amazed to say the least. "Wow, I came from a family of 5 and I thought I had it bad!"

Melee snickered. "You haven't quite met my brothers yet have you?"

They paused when they heard a strange sound. Snek was slowly crawling out of his room, yet as he managed to pass the doorway he was quick to get to his feet and appear as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "Hi…" he said awkwardly.

"Let me guess, pinned again?" Melee then smirked, it's been happening a lot as of late. Snek's kids would go to bed, when Snek goes to bed they tend to pin him down. Not to mention, when he just got the kids home, he was taking a nap, when once more. He got restrained.

"They are adorable," said Latina.

"Yeah well, they are eating every day now, they are turning into teenagers! Won't be long, I think after this meal they are going to look fourteen."

"Wow, that fast huh?" Latina said.

"Yeah, they all ate a wolf threat kind of monster, about as big as a person. But they keep pushing themselves to eat more and more!"

"They've been around MY kids too long!" laughed Melee.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

As the day went on, Latina went home after her heart to heart talk with Melee. When the family slowly but surely began to return, there was someone missing. "Huh… sulky boy hasn't come back yet?" Garou announced. He was the last to get home as he saw everyone else sitting about the table and awaiting dinner. Pac was at the helm of the meal and shook his head.

"I've been out most of the day, haven't seen him or gotten a single tweet about Amai in public. Normally his fan base is really good at tracking him…"

The room paused and stared at Pac oddly. "You're on twitter for that?" demanded Hunter.

"Yeah, better than us keeping tabs on him."

The table paused. "That's a damn good idea!" Alley said.

As dinner was finish being made, Pac's phone went off. He paused and stared at it for a moment. "Huh?" he muttered.

"What is it?" asked Melee.

Pac looked to the table. "When was the last time anyone saw Amai?" he questioned. No one spoke, he hasn't been seen since this morning. "It says here a fan saw him in City M, but he was going to the abandoned military facility…"

The room froze.

"Isn't that…" muttered Suiryu.

"Yeah…" said Max.

"Garou…" Melee said with worry.

He already began to stand up from the table. "Goddamn it Amai, why didn't you say you were going to do something stupid!" Garou was just about out the door when a hand came on his shoulder. Pac stood behind him. "I'll go with you dad."

He was hesitant, however nodded in agreement. "Start dinner without us, we won't be long." Garou called.

#

They arrived at the old military base. Pac looked about but shuttered at the sigh. "Too familiar…" he said.

"No shit, this were Snek, Max and Suiryu were taken. But there's nothing here. Amai himself blew the place up, so why come back to it?" Garou whispered.

Pac began to search about, picking up scents in the area when he found Amai's. "He was defiantly here… wait…" he found a small glass vial near by. Pac took a sniff of it and paused. "Tranquilizer!" he announced.

"What?"

"This is tranquilizer! The inside lining of the vial… But what was in here?" Pac said aloud.

Garou took the glass from his son, he took a good sniff and made certain he smelt what he did. Pac's nose wasn't off, it was bang on, yet the contents within was something odd. "Dad?" Pac asked with worry.

"Aphrodisiac…" he muttered. "Someone is looking to get Amai in the mood, but a bigger question. Was he stupid enough to drink this or merely discard it?"

Pac shuttered to the thought. "Ugh, what kind of thing would 106 have at the ready for someone like Amai?"

"Must be some sort of crazy fan girl he turned no doubt…" muttered Garou. He tried to pick up the trail but found it strange, the air has changed and distorted the scent. "The damn clone is learning to cover his tracks pretty good. I got no scent to Amai or the clone… must he a new invention…"

Pac paused as he took in the air. "Ozium partial remover?" he said.

"Huh?"

"Kinda like the air freshener we use after Hunter is in the bathroom." He explained. "Yet this is on a whole different scale to say the least… We defiantly need one for the bathroom at home…"

"Well, we better get everyone rounded up and find Amai fast… my God was he that stupid to drink that thing?"

"Probably that desperate." Muttered Pac.

#

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!"

Garou decided the moment he got home, he explained the situation to the family. Melee was already up and arms about it all. Amai was foolish enough to believe 106 on whatever promise he made to him. That or he thinks he is being smart by taking the vial and being transported to his new location and bring it down from the inside. Either way, no one in the family was happy about it.

"You think he's that much of an…" Suiryu began to ask, but soon stopped himself. "Never mind, I withdraw my question…"

"We can take solace in one thing, he has a very, very strong will. He won't be able to make Amai do much of anything." Melee said with a sigh.

"Question is, where did he go? Where is this asshole keeping the other asshole?" Garou demanded.

Alley sighed aloud. "At times like this, I wished Amai accidently ate a cellphone…" she muttered.

Pac however had fallen silent, his eyes were closed as he appeared to be in mediation. "Pac?" Garou asked.

"I've been trying something… Let me see…" He suddenly went cross-legged on the floor, falling deeper into meditation. The room paused, as he appeared to do a different breathing technique before his eyes opened. "What's in City H?" he asked.

"City H? Not much, that's a bustling city to say the least… No real abandoned sections or anything. Why?" asked Melee.

"I am picking up his aura…"

"Huh?!" the room said in great confusion. "Since when…"

"Training in the woods, helped me avoid people and detect monsters. Took some time to practise, managed to perfect it for a while until I ran into Bad." Pac explained. "Yeah, I am picking up something… but I can't be sure, there's too many people to pinpoint his location, as well I haven't done it on a scale like this before considering the people around here too."

Melee sighed. "Is it wrong of me not to really feel overly concerned about Amai?" she asked. "Normally if it were anyone else here in this house I would be freaking out by now."

"Meh" the house replied.

"Either way, we better see if we can find Amai before something does happen. Then again, he went into this willingly no doubt…" Garou paused. "I think we ought to wait."

It wasn't the brightest move, however the house agreed. "It could be another trap to divide and conquer, for all we know he's not really after Amai, but one of us… my kids!" said Snek.

"I'm thinking that too. Let's stay put for now but keep a close eye on this, if anything. I'll go out and try and find him." Garou announced.

Melee was about to protest, yet with what happened last time, they two have come to an agreement. One risk at a time. She gave a nod to Garou and begged him to be careful. "If anything, call my brothers to help you."

"Tch, Brawlers…" he muttered.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

'Just as planned'

Amai knew he couldn't trust the clone as far as he could throw him, it was all a trap to get him to do his bidding, but for the time being, he will allow such a man to believe he fooled the great Amai Mask. He tasted the tranquilizer within the vial given to him, however he wondered why it was an aphrodisiac added to it?

What on earth could this creature have planned?

It didn't matter, his strong will was more than enough to vanquish any toxin unusable in his system. This is nothing and it will make destroying the base all the more easier.

That tranquilizer however was a whole different story.

Amai didn't think they made one so powerful it could take him out, let alone in his current state. Taking into factor body mass, his will power and strength. How was it even possible? He fell for that trick, but that would be the last one that would work on him.

When he regain sensation in his body once more, Amai's eyes flickered open, he yawned and stretched as if he woke from a rather delightful sleep. He was refreshed and felt he could take on the world! Yet, as he looked about his surroundings, he felt as if he were somewhere familiar. "My apartment?" he whispered.

He would give credit where its due, the layout was rather remarkable. Just like his place yet with far wider channels for him to move about. He did a quick double check of himself and nodded, he was still serpent. Yet there was also a particular smell in the room, one not over powering yet very noticeable. It was sweet and savoury all at the same time, if anything it reminded him…

He broke from the train of thought when he heard a shower suddenly turn off from the bathroom. The door opened as he stood at the ready to strike down whatever stood in his way, yet, as the figure emerged. He paused to it. A small smile came over his lip as he shouted aloud. "YOU ARE FOOLS TO THINK I AM GOING TO FALL FOR THIS!"

"Amai, darling… who are you shouting at?"

He snickered at the sight of her.

He wasn't an idiot. "Don't you think this is a little too… convenient… I know what you are, and I can assure you… you are no Melee Brawler!"

She was the spitting image of her, just before she found her way to Garou's side. Yet this Melee was human, and glowed radiant oddly in his eyes. "What's the matter Sweet darling? Don't you want me all to yourself… I know I want you…" she said as the towel she wore was quick to drop to the floor.

He froze at the spectacle.

He tried to look away but found himself unable to.

Then that smell.

He began to take it in and remembered why it was so familiar to him. Back when he possessed Garou's body, it was the scent of Melee…

"No…" he said and turned away from her.

"But… Amai… I am just for you and you alone!" she said in a sweet tone. He watched from the corner of his eye as she began to approach, she was graceful, as each stride was perfected. She walked as smooth as silk, until she stood before him. "Sweetheart… darling… Look at me…" she said gently.

Slowly, his eyes looked to her. The smile she possessed lit up the room as she gave him a very loving look. "I won't ever turn my back on you. I will never betray you… I will be ANYTHING you want me to be… even…" her hands came up to the side of his face, he felt something surge out from his cheeks as her hands suddenly turned scaly! Her body began to turn before his eyes until she was a long, silky smooth blue serpent just like him!

She was long and elegant just like he was, her smile turned devious as she crept a little closer. "Ooo look, I'm the perfect size for you Amai…" she purred. Her arms then began to wrap around him, she pulled Amai closer to herself, ensuring her bare chest was pushed up against him. The tip of her tail coiled around his. "Come on darling… show me how sweet you are!" she pleaded.

Amai shoved her away.

"You think too lightly of me!" he snapped. "What makes you believe I am going to fall for this, you are NOT Melee Brawler!" he protested. "Even if you were, I wouldn't want her anymore. I lost interest a year ago! You are not worthy of my time!"

The smell in the room began to increase, until a light haze covered the floor. Amai felt his head pulsing with pain as he stared at this Melee knocked off. She snickered a little to it all, to his growing anger and yet showed no fear of him despite his power. "Oh, but Amai, you don't understand… It doesn't matter if you are interested in me or not, the deed is already done…" she cooed. "In the end, I don't care if I get destroy by your hand, all that matters is what happens before that…" she said in a sexy whisper. "Send me to heaven before sending me to hell!" she decreed.

Her body began to wrap around his, Amai felt his will wavering as he tried to resist. Yet each and every time he looked into her eyes, he continued to fall deeper into them. "Melee…" he whispered. He leaned in, the first thing he tasted were her lips, they were just as he imagined them. Sweet, soft and supple, he wanted more. Her whole body leaned into him urging him to go on.

He did just that…

#

There was a celebration among the underlings of 106.

The man himself was smiling to the results. "All that time was not wasted for this moment. I am glad I was able to gauge him ahead of time before we moved forward. The information we have gathered, those we have lost were not in vain! Now, we will have quite the test subjects as soon as the deed is done…"

"How long do we give them?" his second in command questioned. "What if Garou is already looking…"

"He is, he has been circling City H for some time. He is aware that he is here, just unaware as to our location. It matters not, this isn't a family member so the hunt doesn't appear to be that serious." 106 announced.

They left Amai and the clone to do their thing, 106 had to give her credit. She managed to entice Amai Mask to the point he couldn't resist her. She bided her time. That long act was surprising since she had been craving him ever since she woke up. 106 made certain that her eyes were for him and him alone. Not to mention the little bonus he managed to graph into her skin. The first man she comes in contact with, her body will adjust and become the perfect compatible match to them. The moment she made skin-to-skin contact, her body turned serpent to accommodate Amai in his form.

Granted, he will have serpent test subjects, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Hey, Garou is backing off!" one clone called.

He completely evacuated from the airspace and left. Just as 106 thought, Amai Mask isn't family, so the urgency to find him wasn't great in his mind. "Ensure the pheromone is still pumped into the room, keep it consistent until we know for certain that everything has gone… accordingly."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

It would be a full 24 hours.

Garou searched the cities and even went to the Brawlers for help. Yet, despite the situation, they didn't quite put their heart into it. "Why the hell are we doing this again?" Knuckle asked.

"Like it or not, Amai did save Drax from a while back." Garou explained. They looked over the city by the tallest rooftop. Garou shook his head to it all, a full day without a signal sign. "I think we ought to get trackers on the family. At all times. This guy is getting trickier, the fact that there is no trail, no scent, nothing…"

Street nodded in agreement. "We can make arrangements. We will be able to keep track of everyone, but the question remains first, where the hell is Amai. What are they doing to him?" he asked.

Garou shook his head. "I don't know. I am just grateful that it's none of my kids or close friend in this. I don't care for Amai still, yet I won't leave him out to dry either." He sighed aloud. "Let's keep looking."

The spent the better part of the day search, there wasn't a scale or appearance of Amai Mask. If his plan was to destroy the place, he should have done so by now. What the hell is taking so long!?

#

Alley was at the Association when everyone appeared glued to the TV.

"We have breaking news here at the disaster channel. A hospital that was set to open in the upcoming weeks as exploded! There is no word as to the cause but police are finding evidences that this hospital behind me… was being used!"

"What the actual fu…." Alley muttered, but before she could finish her swear, she rushed out the door and took to the skies. Pac was right, he was in City H, Amai was kept there yet hide in plain sight! Why the hell didn't they search the 'new construction' hospital in the first place! It was strange since the city already had the largest on the super continent and there was no word as to expanding it. "Damn it all to hell!" she muttered.

#

She searched high and low for him, despite Alley finding where Amai was taken to, the place was already decimated and destroyed. Either someone or something beat her to the punch. Still, it was a strange sight as she went through the wreck, there were signs of destruction everywhere, blood and flesh littered the ground yet it wasn't as much as she anticipated. "If something tore their way out of here, there should be a lot more gore…" she said to herself. Yet with nothing more to discover, Alley went on her way and tried to go over possible ideas. "If I were Amai, I would get out of here as soon as possible, head to a save haven… yet for him, he doesn't necessary have to worry about being attack, he's strong enough to hold his own…" she said to herself.

Still, she began to search just to be certain.

Making her way into the city, there were signs of destruction to say the least. There was a monster attack yet it was already dealt with. "Miss Brawler! Did you see that? Amai Mask came here just as a monster attacked!" one woman called out on the street.

"Where did he go? Is he okay?" she asked. Yet paused. "Wait there was a monster attack, my system didn't go off!"

"He stopped it before it was called out!" She paused as a nervous look came over her. "I… I don't know where he went. He didn't say a word or anything, he was like… possessed or something." She explained. "He kept going on, despite eating the monster, he slithered off in search of another that started attacking down the street."

"Follow the destruction… thank you!" she said.

There was damage done in the streets, despite where she looked. Yet the people all said the same thing, Amai showed up, didn't utter a word, appeared possessed, defeated and ate the monster before moving on. It was getting a little too suspicious. "What level threat was the monster?" she began to ask.

Much to her surprise they were all the same, demon or near dragon level. This was getting concerning now. If Amai is defeating and eating all these threats, then how can he move at such a rate? "He should be too lethargic to even slither!" she muttered, yet continued on.

By the time she cleared the city, there was little to no sign of Amai. It was starting to get concerning. "If his metabolic rate spiked, damn it…" she muttered. There was little choice. She retreated back and went home to inform her parents.

#

Her feet just hit the ground, Alley rushed in to tell them the news but Suiryu was quick to silence her. She froze, he was slinking his way down the hall towards his room, a rather full Amai Mask, and yet, considering what he ate, he shouldn't even be able fit down the hallway! When he vanished into his room and the door closed, her father was the first to say. "Shit…"

"Yeah, no kidding!" she muttered.

"What are you talking about Alley?" questioned Suiryu.

She explained that she found where he went off to after escaping the lab 106 put him in, he decimated everything and all test subject within. "There was little blood and gore, which I can only assume he ate them. But still his escape, a town was under demon and near dragon level threats. He went there and cleared them out, he ate them all!" she explained.

Her mother was stunned. "How could he if he is able to move like this?"

Suddenly, there was a snickering sound. Snek was on the couch listening in on it all, but couldn't stop himself. "Oh man, he's about to become a hypocrite!"

"Snek…" growled Garou.

"It's exactly the same thing that happened to me, remember?" he announced. "When I got my four kids, I went on a spree devouring anything I could get my jaws around! Looks like Sweet did the same thing!"

There was an awkward pause in the room. Her mother was concerned as she turned to her father. "He's right, isn't he?" she whispered. "But… if that's the case, how?!" she demanded. "There is NO WOMAN in this world that he's really desired. Except for Latina recently…"

"Maybe he has a point about her…"

"Nope." Goliath said right off the bat.

The house turned and stared at him oddly. "I already looked into her, did some research, everything is perfectly clear when it comes to her background. Latina did indeed start in one of the smaller cities as an actress and moved up. When Amai went missing, she was already going to rehearsals and interviews for other movie parts as they waited for the beauty and the beast movie to finish production. She's not part of this."

"Not to mention the day he went missing, she was with me for a good two hours to say the least." Melee stated.

The room sighed with relief, yet still the thoughts began to plague their minds. "I'll go back to the hospital and see if I can find video footage as to what happened and how they did this. I mean this isn't an easy thing to accomplish!" Alley announced.

"I'll go with you, just to be sure." Said Suiryu.

Garou gave a nod as Alley was quick to leave the house, there has to be footage, he destroyed that play so fast the clones wouldn't have had time to take everything out, let alone hide the evidence…

#

"Wow… that's some destruction."

They arrived back at the scene, the police were out in full force to say the least, when Alley appeared they were rather surprised. "Miss Brawler, anything wrong?" the chief asked.

"Perhaps, has anyone gone inside yet?"

He shook his head. "The walls are too unstable, my men won't go in until it's secured. Are you looking for something?"

"To say the least, mind if Suiryu and I go in to scope the place out? We think this was the work of the side branch of the house of evolution."

The chief was a little concerned to the news but nodded in agreement. "You two will be okay?" he asked with concern.

"Meh, if it falls, it falls. It's not the first time I've had a building fall on top of me." Suiryu said and walked in fearlessly. Alley followed suit as they examined the walls.

Suiryu paused as he took in the air. "You smell that?" he asked.

Alley tried to pick up the scent but her sense of smell was nowhere near his. "Faintly, but it's not what you're smelling is it? I got a chemical concoction here…"

"I got a powerful pheromone… yet…" he paused and sniffed the air again. "That's weird."

"What is it?"

"It smells like your mom… Melee…"

Alley was stunned as they went deeper into the hospital, she found the room where the clones must have made their observations. The place was left in a mess, they got out of here in a hurry to say the least. She went over the pages that scattered about the floor, just as she heard some of the wall crumbling away. "Looks like this side of the building is going to collapse…" she said offhandedly.

"Yep, I give it another twenty minutes or so before this come down." Suiryu said without an ounce of concern. "Find anything useful?"

"Just notes so far, oxygen levels, chemicals… pheromones… aphrodisiac… Huh… clone stability…" she said curiously.

"Hey Als, I found a video system…"

There were TVs along the side of the wall with recording devices, Alley didn't have the time to look it over now, but she brought her hand held computer to download everything on to it. "Can you help me gather the papers as we wait for this to finish loading, there might be something here to give us a clue."

Suiryu nodded as he began to gather the stacks together. When there was more than enough and the data was loaded, Alley unplugged just as she felt the walls shake and tremble. "It's coming down huh?" Suiryu muttered.

"Yep…" Alley said with a sigh.

#

The police were out in full force, yet they could see the side of the building begun to collapse. "EVERYONE! BACK UP!" the police chief called.

The officers and press moved just out of the way as the building came crumbling down! The dust kicked up as the debris went everywhere, however the police chief was worried. Alley Brawler was still inside! "Oh God, if anything happens to the daughter of Garou. He'll go mad!" he whispered.

Yet as the dust settled, he saw something moving. Part of the wall that remained standing was suddenly knocked down as Alley Brawler and Suiryu appeared out of the decay, no worst for wear. "I think we need to go over the notes to see what is written, I am curious now to what was recorded…"

"Alley Brawler! Suiryu! You're okay!" the chief said with great relief.

"Of course!" Alley protested. "You think that could stop us? Please."

"Again not the first time I have had a building fall on me. Not the last time either." Suiryu said with a laugh. "Let's go Als, and see what we got."

#

Alley was quick to get to the lab.

It was late afternoon and luckily for her Genus was still there. Yet he was just packing up to leave. "Oh, Alley? Did you find Amai?" he asked.

"Yeah… and we think he's been Sneked, your clone struck again and did the same thing to him as he did to Snek."

Genus was midway to putting on his jacket, when it was slowly taken off again. "What do you have? What did you find?"

Suiryu presented him with the papers, Alley began to upload the video she got on her computer into a larger one to ensure there were no viruses or hackware. Genus began to go through the papers, reading everything top to bottom before he sat down, rather stunned to the news. "Oh… this isn't good… not good." He muttered.

"What is it?"

"Your hunch is correct Alley, he did preform the same procedure on Amai as he did to Snek, however how he did it was altered. He increased his reproductive cycle and accelerated his… how do I explain this…"

"Soldiers in the cannon?" Suiryu said with a smirk.

"That will do." Genus said and sighed to it all. "He has been studying everything, from what the pheromone did to Snek, how strong Pac's resilience is to his own hormones, combined with other factors tested on your family to make the perfect chemical combination to use on Amai."

"Uh… I think things just got more complicated than that." Alley called. She waved over the two. They gathered around the computer screen before Suiryu paused.

"Isn't that…" he said, but then turned white. "Oh God!" and turned away embarrassed. "This does not leave this lab!" Suiryu demanded. "If Garou knew I have seen his wife… your mom naked…"

"Suiryu, it's a clone of her… wait… if that's what they used…" she continued to watch as the clone touched Amai, and then her form changed to that of a serpent. "Oh dear God…" she whispered.

Genus was just as surprised, but took a deep breath and appeared to be just as flustered. "Whatever he is carrying… are your half siblings."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"What…."

"Yeah… seriously… WHAT!" demanded Melee.

Alley had to rush back home and inform the family. She explained that she found the lab, Amai escaped out of it using his own means, however it was what happened within that stunned the family. "They somehow cloned mom, she was human until she touched Amai's face and turned serpent… then nature appeared to have taken its course…" Alley said as her voice trailed off.

Garou was trembling with rage, his teeth clenched as he tried to keep in together. Melee was at a loss for words, unable to understand what happened, how it happened let alone that a clone of her actually wanted someone like Amai Mask! "So… he's carrying our half siblings?" asked Akira. "Heavy…"

"No shit," growled Garou. "What the hell are we going to do about this? There is NO WAY he is going to want these things."

"Garou… what can we do?" she asked. "At the moment, no one can get near him. No one can even approach him without getting snapped at, also, how do we know that he went through all of this too? I mean, he was missing for days, he could have been just that hungry to eat all those monsters… wait… what happened to the clone?" Melee asked.

Alley appeared a little sick with the notion. "Uh… he ate her."

The room fell into dead silence. "He what?" asked Snek. "He ATE her?"

She nodded. "Twenty four hours after it happened, he ate her, then busted out of there, ate the subject within before going on his spree of monster hunting. So yeah, he did just that." Alley stated. "I've been talking with Genus too, we think we can make a way for him to no be pregnant, however I also don't want to make this call without his consent, since we know what a pissed off Amai is going to do!"

The room nodded, but Melee however fell oddly silent. "Mom?" asked Hunter.

"They are my children too…" she whispered. "I know this isn't right… it's not fair… but still…" her voice trailed off as Garou sneered to her tone.

"Not our problem!" he told of her. "Not your kids, they are a CLONE'S offspring, Melee."

"But a clone of me nonetheless!" she snapped back. "I… I don't know how to go about talking to Amai about this, let alone how he will react."

"That's going to be a while. Unlike Snek, he's not going to be coherent to say the least until what's in him is out." Alley explained. "It makes sense now, what's in his blood and the coating around it to keep him in his serpent form. It was also to ensure that the instinct to nurture was to remain intact too."

"So… we're going to keep him pregnant? If we do, it's going to be hilarious!" said Hunter.

"We got no choice, for all we know, Amai may want kids…" said Alley.

"I doubt like this, if I were him, he would want these things out and destroyed." Stated Garou, yet he sighed. "But I cannot deny the fact that he may want them too…"

"So what do we do after they are born and he doesn't want them?" asked Alley.

Luna gasped. "We get to take care of more babies!" she said with great excitement to her voice.

"Like hell that's happening!" Garou protested.

#

It was a complicated balance to say the least.

Amai never spoke, appeared to be coherent or anything. He would go out when he was hungry, so the family made certain to stay out of the way, yet also kept him out of trouble. It was a chore to say the least to follow him as he went out to feed. Half the time was ensuring he had enough and never turned his sights on the people he vowed to protect.

The kids took turns in escorting and assisting in the hunt when need be. Even Street and Knuckle stepped up!

Yet as time passed, and the more he grew. Melee couldn't help but be worried. She knew Amai had wanted her, he loved her… was this how 106 got him to breed? Why would 106 want all these serpent test subjects anyways? Or was this the easies means of getting what he desired and in greater quantities? She had begun to think of all the possibilities and reasoning behind it. Was the clone really after Amai over Snek? Was Snek a mere test to see if breeding in such a state was doable?

She continued to ponder the notion, thinking over everything outside the house one day. She was ensuring Amai didn't leave to say the least. He's starting to show. "Sis…"

Melee snapped out of her blank stare as Knuckle approached. "You are SO out of it, what's wrong?"

"Oh… it's just…"

"And don't lie to me… you can't… damn robotics takes the fun out of it now…" he muttered crossing his arms. "Your heart rate is up, your sweating and it a nervous sweat and I smell you from here…"

She sighed, it's true. Ever since Street and Knuckle became cyborgs thanks to Boros, she can't hide anything from them! "Amai… was used for an experiment, the same way they used Snek in the past. He's going to have children." She explained.

"That's fucked up… Also rather hilarious at the same time… continue…"

"Well… it appears that they somehow cloned me to get him to do this."

Knuckle froze as he slowly turned and stared at her. "Cloned… YOU?" He demanded. "Why? Why you of all people? No offence."

"None taken, and believe it or not. Back when I worked for Amai, he never had the guts to say it, he actually loved me," she explained.

Knuckle was stunned, nearly too stunned to speak. "That son of a bitch… dad wouldn't have approved of him anyways!"

"Yet, he would have approved of Garou?" she asked.

"According to Street's dreams, and you know how vivid they are."

"Anyway. I am concerned, because if they did to this to get what they wanted… Amai won't want these children to live. Not a single one of them… But, they were made from a clone of me, that means…"

"They are yours too." He whispered. Melee nodded as she nearly felt herself choke up. She could imagine Amai doing those little ones in, without a second thought he would slaughter them. But, she doesn't know if she would allow him to do such a thing. "You wanna know what I think?" he asked. She nodded once more. "You got to look at them when they are born, even if they may not take on much of your appearance. If you feel connected to them, that same love you have for your own children, then it's only fair to give those little ones the same treatment, isn't it?"

Melee froze to his advice, but he was right. They are just as much a part of her as they are of Sweet Mask. "What will Garou say?" she asked nervously.

Knuckle smirked. "Knowing him… be pissed off… demand Amai take responsibly… if Amai doesn't and wants to kill them, then I think we will see Garou's true colors."

"His true colors?" she asked.

But Knuckle said nothing more. "I think it's all going to be over soon anyways, isn't it?" he asked.

With the way Amai has been feeding, he was right. Not to mention he must have the sensor picking up on the changes in Sweet Mask that she cannot see. "Holler if you need us okay sis. I think Street just came back with baby bro."

No sooner did he say that, Street landed along with Garou. They each carried two tiger threat monsters just in case Amai was hungry. Garou tossed the dead beasts to the side. "The moment he's able to hunt he owe me a damn good monster dinner that son of a bitch!" he growled.

He has been hunting for Amai for the past week. His appetite has spiked to say the least and it is getting to a point where he shouldn't be out in public, it's too… noticeable to say the least.

"He ain't got much time left with whatever the hell is happening to him." Said Street. "Still, sis… this REALLY happened before?"

"Far too often for my liking to ay the least." She muttered. "Thank you for helping guys, I really appreciate it."

"Not like we're doing anything really. Also if the monster body gets used rather than burned all the better, hot summer days of searing monster flesh are not the least bit appealing…" chimed Street.

"Still… thanks." Garou said yet appeared to be begrudgingly to do so.

"Ah, no worries baby bro! You take care of our sister, that alone means the world to us!" said Knuckle as he pulled Garou into a headlock and ruffled his hair.

"Damn it! Let go asshole!" He pried himself away yet quickly fixed his hair, he gave a sneer to Knuckle who was laughing it up.

"Go easy on him, he's never had brothers before." Warned Melee.

"Take the fun out of it…" muttered Knuckle.

"We're going out on patrols, tell Alley we will drop by later and make sure everything is in working order. I got to admit, being robotic… I don't really feel much different." Said Street.

"You thank Boros for that, he didn't like the way human did cyborgs to say the least."

The brothers smirked as they took off. Garou on the other hand sighed. "Better check on preggers."

"Garou!" Melee protested yet snickered at the same time.

#

They peered into Amai's room. So far nothing appeared out of the ordinary. He's been asleep for the past three days, Melee didn't know if she should be concerned or if perhaps there was something wrong. She was about to wonder in, until Garou stopped her. He shook his head and closed the door. "Don't ever walk in when he's asleep. Knowing him…" Garou paused as he left of a moment yet came back with one of the monsters he hunted. With a gentle toss, it was thrown into the room, Amai snapped it up and ate it before the body hit the floor! "He will snap at anything that moves in his territory…"

Melee merely nodded as she continued to peer into the room. Amai has grown in the past few weeks to say the least, yet he hardly ventures out of the room anymore. He's like a caged snake that will only move if there is food, nothing else. Still, the way he glared at the door wasn't one she was comfortable with. They closed it and back away as Amai fell back to sleep.

"Right, good call," Melee however sighed to it all. "What are we going to do?"

"WE?" Garou demanded. "Melee, not our circus, not our problem!"

"What if what you suspected is true, then what?" she demanded.

"What do you mean? Are you saying if these things were created by a clone of you, you have to do something about them!?" he demanded. "You did not help create these, these are AMAI'S kids, not ours! He can figure it out!"

"He's going to kill them,"

"Yeah, he is,"

She froze to his words. "You're okay with that? He's going to kill innocent little lives who have done no wrong, who are a part of me as well… without a second thought?"

He growled lowly. "Melee, listen to me. The house of evolution CREATED them. You had no part in this; you gave no consent nor agreed to any of this. Let Amai do what he's going to do, even if it means ending them."

"Why didn't you give this advice to Snek?" she demanded.

Garou froze.

Melee tried to digest his words, yet there came a strange look on the face of Garou. "Oh God… you're thinking it aren't you!?" he demanded.

"What?"

"You don't want them to die, so you are going to keep them aren't you?" he demanded. "Melee, we have our own family to worry about!"

"I know we do, but still… if we could… I mean, couldn't Snek help us raise them? He would know what to do, how to do it…"

"God, you are impossible…" he muttered. "I am not a part of this. Do whatever the hell you want" with that, he stormed off.

Melee could feel the anger in his words and a hint of resentment. Garou wants nothing to do with these children should they be born, why should he be concerned with them? They aren't his, and she knew that too. Yet a part of her couldn't ignore the notion that if they are made from a clone of herself, they are hers…

#

She woke up the next day.

Melee paused as she entered the kitchen and picked up an odd smell. "What the hell…" she muttered.

She followed her nose as the odour grew. It came down the hall, yet the smell was most powerful outside of Amai's room. Peering down, she found a slick trail that was very similar to what was outside of Snek's room when it happened to him. Yet, once more there were no little ones. But also like before, she knew just where to look. She went to the Triplets. Luna and Eclipsa share a room, yet Akira gained his own. She checked on the girls first. With a gentle knock she called in. "Luna… Eclipsa…"

The door cracked open. Despite Luna being a teenager now, old habits die hard to say the least. "Luna…" Melee began to say, but the door opened a little wider. She could peer into the room and saw them. Two 'scaly jellybeans' as Luna would say when she was younger, were in her bed. They were much larger than Snek's kid, but they bore the same resemblance to their father, Amai. Light blue scales, a cream color underbelly and black circles. "He only had two?" she asked.

There was a smile on Luna's lips as she shook her head. Eclipsa was still resting in her bed, and kept two with her. "Okay, so four…"

"Actually…" Luna said as her voice trailed off.

Melee froze. "More?" she asked bewildered to say the least.

"Two are with Akira, I couldn't fit them all in our room." She whispered. "Mom… can we keep them… please!" she begged.

"You know the answer to that, they are Amai's, not ours."

Luna pouted. "But mom… he won't take care of them like we will!"

"You may have grown up as a person, but you still talk like you always do…" Melee sighed but smiled. "Okay, hang on to them for now, keep them warm and make sure they get water to drink. If Amai asks for them…"

"I know…" she muttered and closed the door once more.

Melee sighed. "Six…" she whispered.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Garou kept a close eye on everything. Despite what Melee wants to do, he was quite against it. After all, they weren't HIS children. Second of all, why get involved? They already have enough to deal with as it is, why add to the burden? As the week would pass, he met all six of the new little ones thanks to the Triplets. All of them looked like Amai, he didn't even see any sign of Melee in them! Then again their eyes were still closed, he would know for sure when they opened.

The triplets were in full parenting mode as it were. They took to the six rather quickly and used what they learned from Snek's brood and used it to help raise this one.

With the exemption of singing baby snake!

The little serpents were kept warm, safe and watered. Luna loved them as usual, Eclipsa was gently and read to them. Akira would check over the six and made certain all was well. Everyone had enough to drink, were kept warm and cleaned up when necessary. It impressed Garou to say the least, yet it also made him worry. The kids may grow too attached to them. They are aware of the rule that if Amai wants them back, they have to give them. After all, these little ones were not theirs nor were they Garou's.

He also worried about Melee. She would check on them every so often, appearing concerned when one didn't look right or if they got too cold. He's caught her wondering around the house with two on her shoulders to sooth them when they acted out, Melee did that with all six to ensure they got to spend the same amount of time with her.

She was also getting too attached to them. "Melee…" Garou warned. "Shouldn't you just leave them be. They will be fine." He insisted.

"Oh… right…" sometimes she got a little too concerned for them, or became a little too mothering to this unwanted brood. Perhaps it couldn't be helped either.

When Amai woke. He still possessed the crazed look in his eyes, the monster instinct was still in full control. However, when he found the triplets with his brood, he wasn't upset about it. He hissed once but calmed down, perhaps he smelt the blood of Melee in them too. But also perhaps it was because Melee herself was there with them tending to the brood.

He made no brash movement to take them back, most of the time, he merely watched on with interest to what the triplets were doing.

"Huh, I thought that would happen." Alley said offhandedly.

"What would?" asked Garou.

"Sometimes in monsters, they will pass off parenting duties to others who are of similar blood, for example the triplets. Amai smells mom's blood in them, so he associates them as family. It's why he's not attacking them right now. Mom being in the room helps too. He is ensuring the brood is looked after, but at the same time, he passing off the responsibilities to the triplets." She explained.

"So he's dumping responsibilities off on someone else," said Garou. "What a prick."

"Meh, sometimes for monsters it's a better pay off. Right now his instincts see that your genetics have made it to adulthood, and if they have come this far and are willing to raise his children, he will gladly pass off his brood to them, if he thinks they have a better chance at maturing than in his care."

"Still a dick move…" Garou muttered.

#

Amai did nothing more but merely watched, eat and sleep for two weeks. Perhaps it's for the better considering the mood he will be in the moment he wakes. The more awkward part is getting the little ones fed. They take what is needed from him through… natural means. Garou still cringes at the sight of it all when the Triplets sneak into his room and get the little ones fed. Snek would watch from a distance and snicker. "Yeah… that takes me back… I don't ever want to do that again," he whispered.

Garou forced a laugh. "So what now?" he asked.

"Well, mine fed from me for a few months. But looking at Amai's they are ahead of the game in a sense. More than likely, they will feed from him once more after this, and then they should be strong enough to hunt. But they are also Amai's kids. They maybe done after this feeding, it's going to depend on them. Also, they are growing a lot faster than my kids, whatever that damn clone did to them, it's working."

The triplets snuck out of the room with six very full serpent children. "Yeah, I think they are done…" Snek muttered. Then he suddenly appeared uncomfortable.

"Snek?" Garou asked.

He peered down at left arm, the once loose jacket sleeve became skin tight! "That bastard, that's what he did! He made certain Amai was in this form long enough to tend to the brood, and when they don't need him anymore… he changes back… son of a bitch!"

"But it's slowly happening, isn't it?" asked Garou.

Snek checked himself over. He nodded, so far it was just his left arm reverting back, but it meant he didn't have much longer being human again. "Well, easy come, easy go…"

"I wonder how he's going to take to fatherhood?" Garou muttered.

#

In a week's time, he emerged.

Amai's eyes opened and for the first time, he didn't feel like his head was in a fog. The room was crisp and clear as he slowly pushed himself off the foam mattress. "Huh…" he muttered. He couldn't quite remember how he passed out, however everything appeared to be in order as he found himself in his chambers of Garou's home. Looking down at his arms, he paused at the sight. Human flesh. He was human once again! He flopped back on the mattress and laughed aloud. "At last… at long last!" he said gratefully. But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. His stomach roared and demanded to be fed. Such an appetite has come over him. He couldn't ignore it.

He went to his bag and found a good pair of sleeping pants, they will do for now until he gets something to eat.

Amai wondered his way out of the room, not before taking notice of the strange mess within it. He paused for a moment but would worry about the notion later.

Stretching himself out and finally emerged of his chambers, fully human and yet appeared to be rather refreshed but also slightly unnerved. He saw Melee and Garou at the kitchen table. "Did I got hunt something and dragged the carcass to my chambers… it's a mess in there." He asked.

"Good morning to you too, please tell us more as we're having lunch!" growled Garou.

Amai didn't appear to care as he took a seat. He began to reach for anything and everything on the table, sandwiches, and snacks that were left out on plates and anything liquid he drank. It was as if he had never seen food before. "You feeling okay?" asked Melee.

Sweet Mask appeared confused until he took notice of the stare. "Why are you asking me that?" he questioned. "Did something happen?"

"Are you that oblivious?" Garou muttered. "You were out of your mind for a while! You didn't speak, you were… wild in a sense. No control over yourself or your actions…"

He smirked. "Clearly you jest." He reached for a drink of water on the table, when he looked to Melee. There was a strange emotion on her face, one of great uncertainty. "Melee…" he asked in a inquisitive tone. "What happened?"

She sighed. "Alley has gone through some things, you got captured by the house of evolution a month ago, and they were the ones that prolonged your serpent form." She explained. "That aura she found around your blood… it was hormonal. So, your body was rendered in a state that would prevent you from turning back… how they did it with Snek, I have no idea," He merely nodded as he took a drink of water. "She found surveillance footages as to what they did with you… you are not going to be happy about it."

"I already displeased..." He muttered. "Continue."

She told him of the clone they somehow made of herself, yet it was her human self, not her current condition. They used it to ensure their drug on him worked, filling the room with an invisible and yet powerful sedative. When the clone touched him, she became serpent. "Well… let's just say they Sneked you." She explained.

Amai went eerily still. He stared at Melee waiting for her to crack a smile, like it was a cruel joke, but when she didn't, he turned to Garou who wasn't smirking at the notion either.

It was no joke.

He couldn't move from his seat, let alone appear to speak until the veins in his arms began to appear. "Where…." He demanded.

"First off, what are you planning…"

"Where is it!" he demanded. "Such an abomination is not going to live under my watch!"

"Amai… think this over, they are children"

"CHILDREN!" he roared.

"Small innocent children… your children… and to an extent… mine."

"Shut your mouth Melee!" he growled.

"Watch it!" warned Garou. "Listen to her, asshole!"

Amai however refused to. "These… creatures… are no children of mine. I don't create monster offspring, even if it is with Melee or a clone of her… these abominations die!"

"You are not going to hurt them!"

The room froze as Luna stood in the hallway. She glared at Amai, almost daring him to try something. "You won't harm a single one of them Amai Mask… I won't let you!"

"Luna…" warned Garou. "We spoke of this!"

"Daddy… they are MY siblings too," she protested. Her sights then turned to Melee. "Mom… Please!" she begged.

Melee sighed. "I have to agree with Luna."

"Melee!" protested Amai and Garou.

"I will take responsibility for them… Garou they are a part of me, Alley even tested them…"

"Them…" Amai said with a sneer. "Disgusting that they forced these monstrosities upon me."

"I'm not happy about it either!" Melee snapped back. "I was used, just as much as you were. Don't think this is all about you!"

The veins began to appear around his eyes. "I want them destroyed immediately." He said to her in a heartless tone. "Don't make me go through you to do it!"

Melee stood at the ready, however was stunned when. "You got through me first!" came out of Luna.

Amai turned yet snickered to her outburst. "YOU!?" he demanded. "You are a mere infant compared to me. You stand no chance, besides, the grown ups are talking. You should stay out of it," he warned.

Garou however cringed. "Ooo, I wouldn't have done that if I were you."

"What? You think she hold her own against me?" Amai turned yet found Luna standing before him, face to face. She growled lowly to him.

"You never stood a chance against me… outside, and I'll prove it!"

Amai was stunned as she walked out the door without a single ounce of fear. He turned to Melee and Garou who shook his head. "Surrender now, and you maybe able to walk away with dignity." Warned Garou. "As of now, you literally have a snowball's chance in hell."

He appeared to have taken exception to the insult, Amai was quick to follow Luna outside who waited for him in the sparring pit. Although he merely wore sleeping pants, he would gladly do battle just to prove a point. "You have your father's arrogance, that's certain!" he announced.

Luna smiled. "You know, mom and daddy always said you were like this, when you were my nanny for a little while. I didn't believe them… I guess I should have knowing what you would do now to my siblings."

"THEY ARE NOT YOUR SIBLINGS!" He snapped. "They are abominations! Accidents, they were never meant to exist!" he protested.

"And yet they do. I will give you one last chance. Back off. Let them stay with us. Let them live. Or I will have to hurt you."

Amai snickered, but then it became a full out laugh. "You! You think you are stronger than me?"

"Here we go…" muttered Melee.

"Yeah, wish I brought my phone out, I want to record this…"

"I did warn you…" Luna took her stance, yet Amai decided to strike first. He moved fast, that was certain, but she was faster. Sweet Mask was taken aback as he found Luna already gone by the time he was within striking distance. In fact, she appeared behind him. "You never said ready, set and go."

SLAP.

One firm strike to his back and Amai was sent skidding across the ground! Like a stone being skipped across the lake, his body flew and bounced off the ground until he was able to stop himself. The veins appeared as he glared at Luna. "I was holding back so I wouldn't hurt you… You are but a little girl to me still. It appears I don't have to worry about harming you anymore."

He went full speed, he weaved and moved about to try and throw her off. However her eyes were keen. Garou and Melee watched, as their daughter never lost track of Amai, despite his sporadic movements, each strike he tried to land was avoided, blocked and dodged. He was growing frustrated as the strikes began to grow in intensity. Garou could tell by the holes forming in the ground.

"Ooo, he's getting pissed off." Said Garou. "She is SO my daughter."

"No argument here."

Amai was giving everything he had, yet found none of his strikes landed. No matter how patient he was, Luna was faster than him. When he stopped moving, he caught his breath yet, the look of anger only grew on his face. "You haven't done anything since you caught me off guard! Why aren't you fighting!" he demanded of her.

Luna stood there. "I don't want to hurt you. I'm waiting for you to admit defeat."

He smirked. "I won't! Better still…" his sights set towards the house. "I'm going to go and kill them anyways…"

BASH!

The earth trembled under foot, the air pressure rapidly changed as Melee swore her ears popped! It was over in a blink of an eye. Luna struck hard and fast, Amai never saw her coming!

He laid in a heap on the other side of the pit… embedded into the wall head first. Luna however sighed aloud. She turned to her parents. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit him so hard!"

"It's okay sweetheart, he deserved that." Garou insisted. Yet there was a look on his face too. He knew what this victory would result in and it was a prize that he himself didn't want either.

Amai came too as he slowly pulled himself out of the ground. His arm dislocated, his jaw hung off as it too was knocked out of place. Yet, he was quick to adjust himself and heal over the wounds. He said nothing as he glared at Luna for her actions. Melee approached Amai as Garou remained with Luna.

Before she could utter a word, Amai stated. "I want no part of them," he stood tall as he glared down and into her eyes. "I don't even want to see them again, even when I switch with Snek, they stay out of my sight and out of my way. I will not claim them to be any sort of family to me. Do with them what you wish. I don't care… I rather have them dead!"

Melee nodded. "Then go get your things and leave."

Amai did just that, however Luna made certain to stay one step ahead of him. They made their way back into the house. She kept herself ahead of Amai and blocked the hallway that was opposite to his room. He found his clothing and changed before leaving, yet before he did, he turned to Melee. "You always had a soft heart. It will be your own downfall." And slammed the door as he left.

#

Melee sighed aloud to it all, yet her eyes drifted towards the hall. She decided to check on them. The six were kept in the children's old playroom. Yet when she walked in, her heart broke. They were holding each other out of fear in the far left corner of the room, they trembled and shook for they heard everything that happened. "They jumped at his voice." Akira explained. "Amai scares them… are they going to be okay?"

Melee sighed. "I don't know… I really don't…" she said.

"Melee…" She turned as Garou nudged his head out towards the hall. When she joined him he paused. "I can make it quick for them…" he explained. "Very fast… very painless…"

She shook her head. "Have you even looked into their eyes?" she whispered. "Garou… there's such life in them, and a spark… they may have Amai's eye color, but Amai doesn't have such light in his. Look at one of them, and tell me you see it too…"

He rolled his and checked for himself. Garou walked into the room and stared down the odd brood. They all froze at the sight of him and huddled together even closer. With a disgruntled sigh, he went down and tried to pick one of them up. However, it wouldn't be that easy. The largest of the six found his courage, he gave a warning hiss and tried to bite him!

"That one has spunk." He said.

"Dad… they have just been abandoned by their own parent who was suppose to take care of them. I would be pissed too." Whispered Akira.

"Language!" scolded Luna.

Garou sighed as he decided to try and pick up the largest. He was fast, but not as fast as Garou. When he was lifted up off the floor, his bravery vanished as he began to weep. It knew Garou was a lot bigger and stronger than he was. He trembled in his grasp. His eyes opened, despite being terrified, Melee was right. They have the same spark of kindness she did before her eyes turned. "Goddamn it." He growled.

Garou then slowly placed him back on the floor, he was quick to return to his siblings and resume the huddle they formed to keep safe.

He sighed aloud to it all. "Now what?" he said aloud. "They don't trust me…"

Luna tried to reach into the huddle, but found even she was snapped at! "Hey! I cuddled you!" she protested.

"Luna, they are scared right now. It's okay." Melee said gently. She decided to try something. She took a seat near by the little ones and peered down, she wouldn't reach over or attempt to take hold of then, instead she waited for them to come to her. One must have picked up something; their looks of fear were changing. They appeared stunned more than anything, as one was brave enough to move closer to her.

With his forked tongue, he took in her scent. "Why is he acting so surprised?" muttered Garou.

"The female usually abandons the little ones to the male, remember?" said Melee. "They move on, males tend to the brood."

Slowly, one by one they came to her, then they began to reach up for Melee! She smiled and took them all into her arms and held them tightly. "You're going to be okay." She whispered. "You are with a new family now."

Garou was about to leave the room, yet he couldn't ignore the sense he was picking up. "Melee…" he said begrudgingly.

She peered up.

"Give them to me." He said.

"Garou?"

He began to unravel his dragons. The six froze at the sight, as the trembling began once more. They shook in fear and braced themselves to Melee for dear life!

"They're cold." He muttered. "You don't want them catching a chill now do you? Come on your brats, I ain't going to hurt you," he said.

They refused to let got of her, yet she could tell they were getting cold. Their bodies weakened, the grip loosened from each of the children. Garou was quick to swoop them up and into himself before they could react.

Melee paused as she watched them resist him, his body bulged every which way until Garou began to give off a low grumble. She has heard it a few times before, instantly the six began to settle. Well, not just them. The triplets began to lie on the foam floor and were getting relaxed too!

"What the hell?" Melee whispered.

"You didn't know about this either? How else do you think I kept our kids from squirming about? This technique relaxed them nearly instantly… case in point." Melee turned and found the Triplets passed out on the floor, but with content smiles on their faces.

She learns something new about Garou every so often!

For the rest of the day, the little ones slept in him. He made no mention of it to the others, nor did he say anything about it. He only appeared to be doing the task begrudgingly…


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Garou wasn't happy about it.

For the rest of the day and into the night, he held on to the six serpent children. It was strange, ever since he took them in, they didn't squirm, bite or do anything to try and break free. But stranger things began to happen later that evening.

He was quick to call it a night, yet since he had to adjust himself for the little ones, he sighed aloud as he stared at the bed. Custom made no less by Alley herself when she was into building and making things, a double wide King size bed… that now fit only him in his state. "Damn it, they make me look fat…" he muttered.

Slowly he eased himself on to the mattress and sighed, he did take up nearly the whole damn thing. Melee won't have a place to sleep herself! His eyes closed for the time being, perhaps he will be able to convince himself to sleep.

He was just laid there for the most part when suddenly, he felt his head move up off the pillow. He opened his eyes and found Melee had moved herself so she could cradle his head in her lap. From there, she affectionately stroked her fingers through his hair in such a gentle manner. "Huh? Melee?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yes?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" she asked sweetly.

"Why are you cradling me?"

She peered over him, but gave a warm smile. "Why? Don't you like it?"

"I'm not complaining about it, but… why are you doing this now?"

She moved herself out from behind him, she slinked herself down and began to nestle herself into him. "You showed me today your true colors…" she said. "Garou, you manned up in more ways than one… and I love you for it." She arched herself over him once more, but began to passionately kiss him. He was rather stunned to say the least.

He tried to pull away to speak, but she continued on with the affection. "Melee…" he managed to say despite her lips on his. "Are you turned on by this?!"

She paused for a moment, but the smile on her only grew. "I think I am…" she began to grow a little more aggressive, however she kept avoiding his stomach area just in case. However her passionate kisses began to grow intense. In his years of marriage, she has never acted like this before.

She kept it up most of the night, but in the end, she finished by caressing his stomach, and felt for the six he housed. "Whoa…" he muttered.

"Garou…" she whispered. "I'm sorry this happened, for putting you through it all. I will take care of them. I swear, you don't have to strain yourself or do anything to help. I said I would…"

"Yeah… well… I would be a douche if I didn't help you. Also your brothers would have my ass if I left you to do this alone." He muttered. Yet he sighed aloud to it all. "What are you hoping to gain out of this?" he asked of her. "Melee, let's face it, we're doing the work of 106, he wants these six for a reason and all we are doing is giving him the opportunity to obtain them if they are kept alive…"

"I know…" she whispered, yet as her hand caressed his side, she smiled. "But it's all the more reason to keep them safe. Garou, we could have destroyed them like how Amai wanted, but in doing so it wouldn't have solved the problem. 106 would do it all again, he could even take the remains of the little ones and attempt to forge what he wanted from their bodies. No matter how we look at this, he would get what he wants, one way or another."

"Shit…" he growled. "Why do you always think things through?"

She giggled but braced herself close to him. "I never realized how much of a man you really are." She cooed.

He nearly blushed at her tone. Garou wasn't doing this because it was the right thing to do, he was doing this all for her. "Melee… I'll do my best…" he vowed.

"It's all I could ever ask of you." She soon fell asleep shortly after, Garou however only sighed aloud to what he just agreed to do!

#

It was an awkward start to the morning the next day. His large figure didn't go unnoticed at the table either. Thankfully no one said at word about it, he wasn't in the mood to hear it anyways. Yet as everyone woke up and joined the table for breakfast, there was an awkward silence to it all. "If you got something to say, say it." Garou said begrudgingly. "Get it out now…" he paused as he noticed Snek was in an odd predicament. He woke with all four of his kids coiled around him and nuzzling into him affectionately. Garou stared at him with a perplexed look.

Snek sighed to it all. "They have been doing this since yesterday," he muttered as he coiled up to the table.

Max however was the first to speak on the subject matter. "I still can't believe Amai was going to kill them." Muttered Max. "I mean, they didn't ask for this! Not to mention being forced to have someone like Amai as your father…"

"So… none of you are surprised I adopted them?" Melee asked.

"Hell no," said the whole room.

"I'm more shocked that Garou did," muttered Snek as he read his morning paper. "I got to admit though, I missed my scales… a full day back like this and my kids haven't left me alone!"

Snek's serpent children kept a firm coil around him oddly and hugging him full heartedly! "They must have heard what Amai said…" said Akira offhandedly. "I think they are starting to appreciate what they have."

"Probably…" muttered Snek as he took a drink of coffee. Yet he kept peering down at his children. "You kids made your point, mind some personal space?" he asked. But they only coiled tighter and refused to let him go. "Nope… not happening…"

Luna however was staring at Garou oddly. "Daddy…" she said sweetly.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can check up on them. They probably need some water…" he muttered. He got up from the table and went to the padded part of the living room. There he unraveled and let them out. They grew quite a bit over night, yet they were more awe stricken with Garou than anything. Their little bodies still plump and full, yet they made a strange sound that Snek was familiar with.

"Good call, they are thirsty," he said.

It was a family effort to say the least. Melee, Garou, Luna, Eclipsa, Akira and even Max helped out as they all took a little one and got them a bottle. "Wow… looking at them, I see Amai… and yet… I don't… is that weird for me to say?" Max questioned.

"I see it too, part of the reason why we kept them." Garou muttered. "We got five boys and a girl here… huh, even as a clone you still only have a single girl!"

"Shut up Garou…" growled Melee.

"So, do these guys have a name yet?" asked Snek.

"Not yet," said Melee. "We're thinking about them. We used all the good ones on our kids."

With the bottles down the serpent children went over the shoulder, a gentle pat got a good burp out of each of them. "There we go." Said Akira. "You know they are cute."

"Yeah, yeah…" Garou muttered.

"Daddy, we're going to take them for a while okay?" said Luna. "We want to play with them and snuggle them…"

"My God, you cuddle everything…" he whispered. "Okay, but if they get cold, bring them back to me."

With that, the triplets gathered the six up and went to the playroom. Max however peered at Garou with a smirk on his face. "What?!" he demanded.

"I didn't think you would care for them as if they were your own!"

"Shut up Max."

"Seriously! I mean, they are Amai Mask's kids!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Garou snapped.

It took the room aback, Melee was even stunned to his tone. "I think… I am going out for a bit… with my brood…" said Snek as he quickly left. The kids left for the association as Max took his leave too, however, Melee was staring at Garou oddly.

"What?" he muttered lowly.

"What was that?" she demanded. "I know you don't like this, and I said before, I will take care of these children myself. You don't have to…"

He growled lowly. "It's not that I want to do this… but it's what you said before about them… they are children… they never asked to be born… they never asked for Amai to be their father, and yet they were going to die for it? Snek at least manned up and did what he knew was right, he took responsibility and raised those kids of his properly. Amai… he wanted to take the coward's way out of it!"

She froze to his tone. "Is that why this is upsetting you? Amai didn't man up in a sense…"

"No… yes… I don't even know anymore!" he snapped back. "I know Amai didn't even have a choice in the matter either, I shouldn't be judging him, his head wasn't all there when it went down." He sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I'm doing this for you because you said so yourself, a part of you is in those kids. I wasn't going to let Amai take any of that away. They are not mine, they will probably grow up and hate me like their father did. But I ain't letting a child get killed in my house, before my eyes or in front of my family! We don't do that here, I won't allow it!"

She began to tear up.

Melee stood out of her chair and embraced him with all her heart. "This… this is the side no one ever sees of you. They see the human monster, but not the human part of you. I am so grateful that I do, every single day…"

"God Melee, Tch!" Garou sneered as he pulled away. "Don't get all emotional on me, and I swear to God you are pregnant again… I'm getting fixed!"

"No! No… wait… what?" she said.

"Never mind…"

#

Luna was concerned.

Like yesterday would they be fearful of them? Would these six try and snap and bite at them if they attempted to pick them up. However, so far, they haven't been resisting them. Luna held two very carefully before easing them down to the foam floor. When all six were down, they didn't make any attempt to hiss or snap at them.

They appeared curious.

Their eyes wondered about everywhere in the room. Taking it all in as they tried to move about, but were still too chunky to do so. Instead the triplets would hold, swaddle and cuddle their new little siblings. "How could Amai not want them, they are adorable!" said Eclipsa.

"Probably how they came about…" muttered Akira. "But I got to admit, they do take on a lot of his looks, but somehow I still see mom's influence in them. I mean their eyes. They are full of wonder and curiosity. Amai's are cold and heartless at times…"

"I know, but you guys aren't like that are you?" said Luna in a baby voice as she cuddled two of the brothers. They hissed with laughter and wiggled a little, but they were smiling. From that moment on, any time the triplets had them there wasn't a frown to be seen or a tear to be shed. "Besides, Amai doesn't know what he's missing, wait until they can move on their own, then we are going to have some fun, right?" she teased and tickled the little ones.

"Yeah, we will show them how to have fun. We got to get Snek to teach them how to hunt too."

"Oh yeah, they are going to hunt like him as well aren't they? That's going to be fun!" said Luna.

Eclipsa picked up the only girl from the group, she held her in a gentle embrace. "We got to be protective of her… she's the only girl…"

"Nah, we don't have to." Said Akira. "You two weren't sheltered, you could defend yourselves, and she is just as capable!"

"But she doesn't have another sister to look after her!" protested Eclipsa.

"Of course she does. Us! Duh!" snapped Luna.

"Also, her brothers will take care of her, this one is very protective," said Akira. There was one out of the six that really stood out. He was over double the size of his brothers and yet he appeared to be aware of it. He was the one who braced all his siblings close when Amai threatened to kill them. He shielded them. Not to mention brave enough to snap at their father. "I wonder though, maybe he has some of mom's family genetics in him. Like Uncle Street and Knuckle."

"Ooo a Brawler!" said Luna. She then picked him up and said. "I can't wait to see you grow up!"

The brood suddenly gave out a yawn. All that playing tuckered them out already. They struggled to keep their eyes open as they kept peering towards the door. "Strange, why are they… Oh…" said Akira as he smirked. He picked two off the ground and called for his sisters to follow suit. Despite the fact Luna still wanted to play with them some more she knew better. They were tired since they are growing, so it was only natural for them to be sleepy so soon. With that, they picked them up off the ground and brought them back to their father.

He just pulled out of their mother's arms when he noticed the triplets. "They got cold already?" he asked.

"No, just sleepy." Explained Luna.

He rolled his eyes and tucked them back into himself. "I'm going for a walk…" he muttered and left the house.

Luna paused. "Mom… why is daddy upset?" she asked.

Her mother sighed. "It's a lot of things right now sweetheart. For the time being it's best to just leave your father be. He's taking on a lot, and he shouldn't have to."

The triplets paused. "Dad doesn't want to raise them, does he?" asked Akira.

Their mother nodded. "Amai is the father of those six, and yet didn't care enough to raise his own children. Your father has resentment towards him for that. It's sad though, had they been human, Amai would have kept them and raised them well. Since they are serpent, he wants nothing to do with them. He doesn't like monsters to begin with, even when he becomes the blue serpent."

The three paused to her words. "Oh… that's how daddy feels…" Luna whispered.

"Yes, but he's being very grown up and doing it since it's the right thing to do for them. If Luna didn't stop Amai, he would have killed them. If he didn't kill them, he would have abandoned them, either way, in the end, your half siblings would have been left to fend for themselves if your father and Luna didn't interfere…"

"Half? No, they are our siblings!" protested Luna. "Daddy is taking care of them, so are you, a half sibling would only get half the love they need from one parent… wouldn't they? But since they are getting it from both parents, they are our full siblings, right?" she asked.

She smiled. "Luna sometimes you are too innocent for this world."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"So… half siblings huh?" Suiryu said offhandedly.

He was at the Association with Alley, who just finished running all her tests as well was able to recover surveillance footage from the lab that kept Amai Mask. She winced at the sight as he heartlessly snapped the neck of her mother's clone… then ate it. Suiryu even cringed. "Oh God, good thing your mother never fell for him and what happened to Garou didn't happen to Amai!" he announced. Then paused. "I have no intention of cannibalism either…" he whispered.

Alley smirked. "It's strange though. Despite this occurrence, I still can't quite understand how it came about. I have been told that Amai's will power is some of the strongest out there… this… shouldn't have affected him at all!" she explained. But then paused. "Unless…"

"Unless?" Suiryu asked.

"Unless he was that desperate to have my mom…" she muttered.

Both of them shuttered at the thought of it all. "Damn, I still don't get the guy. A part of me still doesn't like him to say the least!"

"Preaching to the chore there, Suiryu. Anyway, I finished running the tests on my new little siblings. Without a doubt mom is part of the equation. But I am wondering just as she is, how did they get her DNA? Not to mention with what they were able to create it was a human clone, not what my mom is now."

"Don't suppose we are going to find out are we?" Suiryu sighed.

"Ahem!"

The two jumped to the voice of Genus who was off to the side working on a project. "I have the answer but I don't think you wish to hear it." He explained.

"With that, I am out of here!" Suiryu announced as he quickly headed for the exit door. Alley sighed aloud.

"I hate to guess, but it has something to do with my mom bounty hunting days, never calling one place home and… her time of the month?" she asked.

Genus tapped to side of his nose, she was right on the money for that. "Those samples were old to say the least, there was a moment in time where I wanted to experiment on the Brawlers myself. For you see, their genetic structure is not the same as those around them. They are in fact a different breed sort of speak. Yet, her brothers were killed along with their father. Melee Brawler was the last of her family and her blood didn't quite provide what we needed. The strength of that family came from the males, the women themselves were abnormal as well, yet not what we were looking for at the time."

She shuttered to the news. "Thanks for that. That solves one mystery. The other is how could Amai have fallen for this?"

"That, you would have to ask him."

"I don't think we're going to be talking to him for a while…" She paused. "Genus… something big is going down isn't there. 106 is obsessed with creating new life, out of certain heroes or genetics to say the least. Snek was only a test to see if the method would work. He wanted Amai for obvious reasons, it would be harder to get blood out of him than anything else. Lastly, he's making children… children with two special characteristics found in the parents… he's trying to isolate a certain trait…"

Genus appeared to be enthralled with Alley's idea. "I never considered that. It would make sense instead of having to splice from one sample to another. When that occurs naturally it is far easier to observe and isolate…"

"Question is, why? Why have these children born? What is he hoping to happen? Is he trying to get them to breed with my siblings? Combine the genetics of not just my father and mother, but other powerful heroes as well?"

He shook his head. "I cannot answer that. All I know is this, whatever 106 is planning isn't good for anyone. He has spilt so much blood already. He even took away your uncles once and I refuse to see Melee that upset again!"

"Thank goodness Boros stepped in. I had no idea he was so capable of creating life like cyborgs!"

Genus paused. "I still wonder how he created them, let alone found an organism that consumes and yet repairs the host body!"

"The alien slime would consume what remained and then bond to its host, recreating what was destroy. He said the slime itself has no consciousness. It merely latches on and lives on that host until death. I am grateful he left some behind and we have been able to make our own, the results are phenomenal. Iaian for example…"

"Indeed, the best outcome we could possibly ask for, however Blue Fire has yet to come in and get his check up on his arm."

"No kidding. I hope to see what else Boros has in medical research that we can learn and build off of. I will have to ask him more details next time I speak with him…"

"Speak with him? On that device that allowed me to speak with Gene?"

She smirked. "Interdimensional communication device. He showed me how to make it when I used my telepathic power. That shit is strong when you got more than one source of it. Not to mention the one I got from my mom came from Tatsumaki herself!"

He gave an uncertain nod. "So, what does Boros communicate with you about?"

"That… I don't share until I am ready to, all I can say is this. We collaborate on many projects!"


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The walk was far more awkward than it was refreshing, considering what he was carrying. Garou stopped for a moment, as he was halfway through the woods, he sat down and tried to think things over. He wasn't thrilled that he had to contort himself to accommodate six children that aren't even his own. At the moment, he could be mistaken for an oversized Brawler!

It was all a screw job to say the least. He wasn't the least bit happy with what it, how it occurred or the fact that he is struck with children that aren't even his! He knew Melee wouldn't turn her back on them, yet Garou wondered if she weren't there, would he have taken them on anyways?

It didn't matter anymore. Looking about, he found he sat on a rather large, flat rock. He leaned back and closed his eyes to rest yet jumped a little. The six were shifting oddly, until he felt their little hands latch on to his side, they braced themselves to him. "You six are going to be so confused when you realize I ain't who you think I am." He muttered.

He opened his eyes for a moment, just for the hell of it, when he nearly rolled on to the ground in shock. His brothers in law were staring down at him with the biggest grins on their faces! "BABY BRO!" they called.

Garou regained himself only to realize he couldn't sit up at all due to the extra weight he carried. Like a turtle stuck on its back, he was in the same situation. "Shit! What the hell!" he demanded.

Knuckle snickered. "It's not often we can sneak up on you like this! Look at ya! You look like one of us! But a very big Brawler!" he laughed aloud as he helped Garou sit up.

"Got a lot on your mind?" asked Street.

"To say the least… why the hell does Melee think she has to save everything?!" he demanded. "God, for once, I just wish she would let things be and let it go, it's not our problem, not our concern… Not my concern…" he growled.

"Whoa, whoa, slow it down. Start over, what the hell are you pissed off about?" demanded Knuckle. "And what do you mean by sis wanting to save everything?"

He told them what happened, Amai's children have now become his against his better judgment. He never wanted them, and yet now he is stuck with six serpent children. "Melee said that they are just as much as a part of her as our own kids. I get that, but still, damn it…" he growled.

Street nodded. He took a seat and let Garou vent out his frustration. He didn't want this responsibility. He didn't want to take care of these children that belonged to Amai Mask. Why should he care? When he was done, he flopped back on the stone he rested on. "Why the hell am I even doing this?" he asked.

"Because you love our sister," Knuckle said offhandedly. "You may not care for the situation at hand, but you care enough about her to endure and help her. She didn't ask for this either. We just came from your house by the way. Didn't go in but we can register how she feel. Terrible by the way. Melee even went as far as saying it was like she cheated on you… she HATES that feeling."

Garou paused. "She didn't consent to this! This wasn't her idea!"

"Exactly" said Street. "Neither one of you are responsible for it, and yet, you are taking responsibility. Look man, it sucks ass. I get it, worst still that they are 'his' but before long, they won't be his… they are going to be yours!"

"Tch, yeah right!" Garou sneered. "These kids are going to resent me just like their father, hate me with every fibre of their being and want me dead!"

"We'll see about that…" snickered Knuckle. "So far, it looks like they adore you. I mean, how many kids would you know would be willing to be enveloped by a monster?"

Garou sneered as he turned away. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Street smiled as he eased Garou back up and patted him on the back. "You truly know what it is to be a man, show and teach it to those kids."

"Well, we're going to head off to the Association, get something to eat…" muttered Knuckle.

"Anyway, later baby bro. We'll come by another time and see the new editions!" The brothers took off, ever since they found their backs could morph into a jetpack, they flew everywhere now, it was a lot easier than trying to work the anti gravity device they got built in too. Yet, Garou sighed as he decided to go back home. The six were getting awkward to carry, he rather lie down and take a nap!

#

Garou tended to them a little bit at first for the six. Mainly kept them warm, got them water to drink. Yet as time passed, he found the job starting to get stranger and stranger. For one, it took most of the family to give the little ones a bottle. But, as soon as they grew comfortable with their surroundings, they began to grow fussy. Garou was holding one of them when the others acted out, crying and refusing the bottle. "What's with them?" he muttered. "They're all thirsty!"

Melee didn't know, hers drank fine, yet she noticed the glare it gave to the one Garou was holding. "Oh… OH!" she said and then snickered. "They want a certain someone to give them their drink,"

"Huh?" He looked about the room and realized all of them were staring at him. Their tears were directing right at him as they began to reach out towards Garou for attention. He sneered to it all. "Fine!" he growled.

Using his coiled dragons, he took the other five out of the arms of everyone. Luna, Eclipsa, Melee, Snek and Akira. From there their tears stopped, it took a little practice and come jumbling around, but he managed to get his dragon like monster to hold them and the bottle.

They drank without issue and the tears were quick to stop.

"They love daddy!" cooed Luna.

"Why thought?!" he demanded. "I ain't anything special to them. Why the hell are they so latched on to me!?"

"I think it's because unlike Amai… you're here," said Snek. "Surprisingly though, these guys never tried to run away like mine did."

"Their father was the cause of their fear, with him out of the picture they are much more at ease. There is no male that would threaten them or try to eat them. Granted, the only one who could do that in their minds is you. Yet, there's no fear in these kids as to where they are." Said Melee.

Snek nodded in agreement. "Perhaps it's also because they saw Snek's kids too, knowing that his weren't eaten, they figured they wouldn't be either. Not to mention, the alpha male in the house is the one taking care of them." Said Akira.

Garou didn't like it still, however he was stuck and there was no going back now. The kids were hydrated and burped, yet shortly after they latched on to Garou's dragons and refused to let go. "Oh come on!" he protested. "I'm going to put you kids down for a nap, you don't have to sleep in me all the time!"

Yet no matter how hard he tried, their grasp was tight, they refused to let go and were already starting to fall asleep. He couldn't even cox them into his body due to their grip, all he could go is coil around them. Even that was awkward! The six peered out every which way on his body, and yet they slept rather blissfully doing do. "Why is this even happening?" he muttered. "They are more drawn to me than Melee!"

"You should be flattered daddy," said Luna. "They know you are someone they can trust, I think they like the idea that you will protect them."

"Damn it…" he growled.

It was only the start of it.

When they were grown and able to slither, they began to follow him like a shadow. No matter where he went to, even if it was to the bathroom, the kids went with him! They waited outside the door until he finished and continued to trail him around the house.

"What the hell is this, follow the leader?" he muttered. Melee snickered as he turned and found they were even mimicking his arm movements!

Monkey see monkey do!

He didn't understand it the least bit, but no matter where he went, they trailed him. Even at the association. He got strange stares by the other heroes as these little serpents shadowed him about like baby ducks!

Naptime quickly occurred that day at the association. Garou just took them in when suddenly. They were poking him oddly. "What the hell are they trying to do?" he muttered. He finally made a little gap to where they were prodding him. The tips of their tails stuck out and flailed about happily. "Are you shitting me?"

Melee froze at the sight of six serpent tails flailing about of Garou's torso. "What the hell…" she said in the same bewildered tone of her husband. Genus happened to have been walking by when he saw the spectacle.

He nearly walked by completely yet turned around instantly noticing the little tips wiggling about. "New adaptation Garou?" he asked curiously.

"No…" he muttered. "Just… let's not speak of this."

Genus nodded, yet as he turned to leave, a smile crept over his face. "You know, from observing Snek's children, it's a high compliment from the little ones. They are content, happy and well nurtured. Thought you should know…"

Garou growled as he walked off. Melee however leaned up and gave Garou a kiss on the cheek for his efforts. "They will out grow you soon, we better start making plans for that." she whispered.

#

True to her word, the six were quick to outgrow Garou and were in need of their own place to sleep. They figured it out when he couldn't even fit in the bed any longer since he had to grow himself out to contain everyone!

They decided to change out the playroom into a massive kids room. With all the comforts they could want. Blankets, pillows, a firm memory foam floor and a nice warming section to sleep in. Despite it all, the bedtime routine and tuck in. Garou and Melee would wake up in a messy coil. The kids would slip out of their rooms and sneak into theirs. In the morning, they would be trapped in their bindings. It was cute for a few days, but going into two weeks, it became rather annoying. "This… has to stop…" Garou muttered to her one morning.

"Yeah…" she sighed. "But what can you do? They are kids, they are just trying to make themselves comfortable…"

"Still Melee, we got to set boundaries or they are going to run rough shot over us!" He tried to sit up, but couldn't. These kids were pinning him in all the right places, not to mention one has coiled around his waist and Melee's arm. "It starts now" he warned.

It became a day of tough love for the six. Despite their constant wants, Garou taught them to fend for themselves. He would help them with certain tasks and things, yet when it came to wanting consistent attention, he nipped it. "I don't mind giving you guys some attention, but it's getting to the point of annoying. You don't need it!" he warned.

They would gather and twist around his arms and legs, then when he wasn't looking, they would slink their way up. By the time he reached his core, he cut them off. "No higher got it!" he warned.

Some would push it, they began to move closer when he pushed them down gently, shaking his head. Sometimes they acted out, sometimes they accepted it, other times… they would get brash and try again and far more aggressively. Garou put his foot down firmly that time. He picked them off and set them on the floor. Sometimes he would ensure they stayed on the floor, even if they cried and acted out. But eventually they learned. When they respected his rule they were allow up again and stay with everyone else. Since then, they didn't coil any higher on him and understood to respect boundaries.

It took a few days to break them of their habit in sneaking into his and Melee's room. They would catch them in the act, carry them back to their room and put them to bed. The first night he did that well over twenty times. They wouldn't stay put; second night, twelve, third night, six, until finally they slept through without breaking out.

"You are very impressive…" Melee would say that morning. It was the first night of blissful sleep that either one of them had. Garou was rather proud of himself but wasn't going to show it.

"Sometimes you got to put your foot down." He stated. "They are learning fast though and understand they can't do things because they want to, that's half the battle… strange though. They are pushing me, yet aren't pushing you…"

"I find it strange too, but didn't Alley say something about the male monsters are the ones who tend to the children… if they don't eat them…" she said.

"Probably, I don't know. I just go with it since we got nothing to compare this too." He sighed aloud. "I hope we did the right thing…"

"We did… I know we did…"

"MORNING EVERYONE, BABY BRO, LITTLE SIS, WHERE THE HELL ARE YA!"

"Oh God…" muttered Melee.

"Brawlers…" growled Garou.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"Aww look at them!" cooed Street.

"They are paunchy!" said Knuckle. "Just like us!"

"They are merely using up their reserves from Amai… the only thing they got out of him," muttered Garou. "Why are the hell are you two even here?"

Street and Knuckle paused as they turned to each other and then back at Garou and Melee. "To see them, duh!" they said. "Like it or not, they are our nieces and nephews are they not?" asked Knuckle.

"One niece, the rest are boys." Said Melee.

"Figures" snickered Street.

The kids were relatively good with the Brawler brothers. They coiled around them playfully and even let them tickle and give them a bottle. But after a while, they began to slink off and head towards Garou. Street was the first to laugh as Knuckle said. "I see they know who their father is!"

"Tch, like you have to remind me. Besides, it won't be long until I get pushed off to the side and they realize who their real old man is."

Street leaned down and looked at the six curiously. "I don't think so…" he said offhandedly. "I think these kids have decided on who they want as a father figure. You won that bet!"

"One he didn't make." Said Melee. "Guys I do appreciate the visit, but is there a real reason as to why you are here?"

They stood up off the floor. "Well, sort of. I mean… You guys know that the government is spying on Alley and her 'Association'" said Street. "They are also spying on us too."

"No shit, you two are the most advance cyborgs in the world, why wouldn't they be interested in you?" said Melee.

"That's the thing, we don't want them snooping around on us or our niece. Not to mention we have been on the hunt for that asshole that killed us the second time around. I got to return the favor to him!" Knuckle said as he tried to crack his fingers with anticipation, yet when he didn't hear the satisfying sound, he sighed. "One thing I do miss, a good snapping of the knuckles… You know shit is about to go down when I do that, right?"

"Not to mention that grinding sound that your neck does when you rotate your head…" muttered Melee, yet she shuttered. "That still creeps me out."

"Still, you guys ain't bothered by the fact that government is spying on you?" asked Knuckle.

"It pisses me off!" snapped Garou. "But what the hell are we going to do about it? I rather have them do their thing and be done with it. We resist on this in anyway, they are going to assume we got something to hide. We don't. My kids want to do good. They want to help people!"

"No shit, they're Brawlers too!" snapped Knuckle. He then sighed. "I'm just making sure you guys are aware as to what's going on…"

"We are, thanks… so… you like the new editions?" Melee asked with a blush to her cheek.

Her brothers stared down at the six. Street gave a small laugh. "Despite where they came from… I know these kids got a lot of you in them. Don't forget that sis. Besides, they got a real man raising them. Ain't that right baby bro?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?" growled Garou.

"Baby bro is more endearing!" snickered Knuckle. "Well, we better head off. You two take care and you know where to find us if you need help!"

As quickly as they came, the brothers left. Melee sighed aloud. "I wished they would at least call first!" she protested. "Love them dearly but the came and go like Amai Mask, without warning."

Garou smirked. "I'd take your brothers over Amai coming unannounced any day!"

#

They had to work out a system of sort. Juggling six kids wasn't easy and they were starting to get fussy when Melee wasn't holding them! How that happened, no one really knew, perhaps it's because she held one of them and the others felt left out. Soon it was decided that the only thing they could do was try and balance out time with each child. Melee got an hour timer and set it up. Each day the kids got a full hour with her and her alone. No sharing with the siblings!

Mainly, they just wanted to be held and cuddle into her shoulder, she had to do her best since her one arm was no longer useful! Her esper abilities certainly came in handy to say the least!

At first it was difficult to explain why they only had an hour to Melee when they were all on Garou at the same time without a time limit. "Mommy is busy" Garou would explain. She was too!

Despite the fact that he carries the kids, Melee picks up the slack. She's been keeping the house clean, making meals and monster hunts all the while Garou is home, tending to them. The six are a handful especially when they start slithering about all over the place. One time it took him a good hour to find all them! They thought it was a game.

Since then, Melee would hold one for an hour, when the timer is up she swaps out the kids and continues on with her tasks. Eventually, the kids understood when she was busy, but she will always make time for them in the end, even if it's a late night cuddle on the couch while watching cartoons or a movie.

#

Days would pass into weeks.

Before long, Amai's kids were big and strong enough to hunt on their own. They just became two and a half months old and were already bigger than Snek's kids at that age! Garou wondered if 106 somehow made certain that Amai's kids grew up faster?

But now wasn't the time to think about it. Garou found himself unable to get a moment's peace to do so anyway. No matter where he was, what he was doing, the six continued to shadow him. They either clung on to him directly or found other means of staying close. Three of them would coil around his tail as two would take an arm and one on a leg. When he would rest or nap, they would all pile on top of him and stay close. Melee thought it was adorable. Garou wondered why the hell they were doing it! However they kept to the boundary he set out for them.

"They like you!" she explained as he sat and watched TV, once more the kids were all around him keeping close and staring at the TV. He was getting into a kids anime. That time I got reincarnated as a slime. The bright colors caught the six's attention as they watched on with great interest. "At least they like the same shows you do!"

He growled at her, yet as they watched, he felt their stomachs rumble. They have yet to speak to him or express their hunger directly. However he looked down as one peered away embarrassed. "Do you want something to eat? We need to go hunting if that's the case." He said.

The little one nodded, then all of them nodded.

It was time to hunt.

Garou peered down at the six young serpents, now, the question is what to feed them. Snek happened to stroll past him. "Hey Snek. The kids are hungry and look big enough to hunt something down. So, what do I feed them?"

He thought it over for a moment. "There's no shortage of monster rats to say the least, I know where those bastards migrated off to," he said, then Snek smiled as he leaned down to the six. "You want to come with me and go hunt? My kids are getting a snack too," he asked gently.

Yet they appeared scared of him, they clenched on to Garou rather tightly and shied away. "Hey!" Garou protested, however, it only made Snek laugh.

"Oh, I have NO IDEA how that feels…" he said sarcastically. "Guess you are coming along"

He sighed to it all as the six peered up to him. There was no other choice, they won't leave him and their stomachs were really starting to rumble in hunger. "Led the way…" Garou muttered.

#

It became a family outing to say the least. Snek brought his four kids, Angie, Bo, Pythan and Conna along. Pythan paused every so often and turned to stare at Garou and the six little ones. "Papa… why are we helping them? They are rivals now!" he protested.

Snek sighed. "No, they are family, you help family, got it!" he scolded. "Besides, there is more than plenty for everyone. Quit your complaining"

His son fell silent shortly after.

Pythan and the others have been staring at the six little ones oddly for some time. Perhaps they were a bit jealous considering Luna, Eclipsa and Akira were taking care of them. They missed the attention, and yet, they also knew they weren't little serpents anymore. Then again it didn't stop them a while back.

Garou was taking a break from the kids, the triplets took over and played with the six. Yet when he went to check on them, he found Pythan forcing his way into Luna's arms and shoving the little ones out of the way! "Hey! You wait your turn!" Luna would scold.

"I was here before them! I want a hug too!" Pythan protested. His siblings did the same thing, they would push the six out of the way to get attention.

But the triplets were good, they refused to give into their pushy demand. "You know better than this!" Akira said in a disappointed tone. "They are just babies and need to be held! You know what it's like when you were smaller and couldn't keep warm, now you are depriving them of the warmth!"

"WE WERE HERE FIRST!" Pythan protested again.

"HEY!" the four jumped to the voice of their father. Snek was quick to step in and straighten out the situation. He took the four out and lectured them about waiting their turn and asking for a hug. It's not automatically given. "You need to understand and respect the boundaries of other people. You are not entitled to everything you want, understood!" he said in a stern tone.

Since then, the kids have back off, but still, a stink eye was given to the six as a result of it all.

Snek's kids were growing bigger and stronger by the day, however, the growth of Amai's was nothing to sneeze at either. They were catching with the others rather quickly. Pythan was keeping a close eye on the development.

Is explained why he is reluctant to be hunting with them!

Garou smirked, as Snek was quick to take command, he led them to a farmland, one he has been to many times over. He befriended the farmers and kept tabs on their rat problem. Just recently, they got another plague of them. When they saw him, the farmers were thrilled. "We were about to call you!" yet they paused. "My oh my… what have we here? There's a small army of you now?!"

"Long story, probably won't believe half of it." Snek explained.

"Wait, you even brought the human monster with you?!"

Garou sneered. "I didn't exactly want to come along, but these guys wouldn't go unless I did!" he explained and showed of the six little ones all cradled in his arms and coiled around his upper body. "Okay you guys off you get, it's feeding time!"

They cautiously let go of him, yet as they looked about, everything startled them. It was their first time outside, in a wide-open and exposed area. That alone made things unsettling. They all clung on to Garou's legs until one was brave enough to make a move. The biggest of the six gathered his courage as he took a chance to investigate the area. He slithered about taking everything in, smells, and vibrations until he found the rat pit. His eyes widened as he turned to Garou and pointed down into it.

Garou smirked as he peered in. "Yep, that's a lot of rats." He announced. "Now, to show you how it's done…" Using his tail, Garou reached in, he snagged one of the monsters that fought back rather aggressively. "Gather around, I want you all to see this…" he called.

The six stood in a circle as he explained to them that they avoid the claws, slide under the arms or pin them down. "Minimalize how much they can fight back, this isn't too big so coil around it like this." His tail worked up the death coil. "Now, see it breathing? Every time it breathes out, tighten your grip!" he was quick to demonstrate as he slowly choked the life out of it. The rats don't take too long to die; he had it dead in mere minutes. "No breath, no pulse, good to eat." His tail then showed how to unhinge the jaw and then swallow it down headfirst. "Now, who wants to go first?"

One of the smaller sons slithered towards the pit, Garou reached in and fished a rat monster out, from there he coached the little one on how to kill it. He did remarkably well, it took him ten minutes to master the technique. But after he was able to eat, a problem arose. Despite the success, he wanted more than one! After one rat, he couldn't hunt again due to his full belly. "Okay we got the basic down, we will continue the lesson another time, for now let's get you kids fed."

It was interesting to watch to say the least. Garou noticed the biggest out of the brood would wait his turn, letting his smaller siblings go on ahead of him. They were each given one rat to practice on, yet Garou waited until they all had one before killing the rest that were needed to fill them. But the bigger one surprised him, when it was his turn, he took his kill and first gave it to his sister. He was given another rat, killed it but then gave it to the smallest brother… he took care of his siblings before himself!

'That's not something Amai would have done…' thought Garou.

The biggest fed his siblings first and made certain they were full before he ate. Garou understood why. Despite all the others eating two rats, this one ate six! "Wow… that's a lot for a little guy" one of the farmers announced.

"No shit." Said Garou.

"Papa… is it our turn now?" asked Bo.

"All yours kids!" Snek announced.

Snek's kids were more aggressive when it came to the rats. They didn't fish them out, they jumped into the holding pen! Snek let them do their thing as he checked over Amai's kids. "Nice and full, lump under the arms, perfect!" he announced.

"Yeah, well done you guys!" Garou said, yet found they were too content to care. They were starting to fall asleep once more. With a sigh, Garou grew himself bigger, he got them coiled and taken back into his body once more.

"Whoa, that's handy!" the farmer laughed.

"I double as a baby carrier, what of it!"

"He was complimenting you," Snek whispered, yet the farmer appeared a little started by Garou's comment.

"Oh… thanks." He muttered. "I'm going home…"

"Yeah, you do that, we got to hunt after anyway. This is but a snack for my guys."

With a nod, Garou took off. He wasn't going to say it aloud to Melee, but she was right. There was something about these six, they are nothing like their father…


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

He was starting to warm up to them.

Despite how needy Snek's kids were, these guys merely had their moments. But it was understandable, they were only newborns after all! Yet as he grew comfortable with them, the six began to grow comfortable with those in the house. Snek no longer scared them. In fact, he caught the kids peering out and watching him a few times. Garou takes them on hunts, but they are curious to Snek and his brood on how they do it.

He smirked to the notion that Amai's kids were willing to see the strength in others to understand their own. Each day he would sit back and watch them grow. He would notice Melee with them and nurture them as if they were truly one of theirs. Yet there was a morning that stood out in his mind. Out of the six, there was one struggling. No matter what he ate, he wasn't growing like his siblings. It became a concern when he and Melee were in the kitchen, the oldest came in holding his brother and looked worried. "Garou…" Melee said with great uncertainty.

He peered down and saw it, the poor thing was sick!

"Shit…" he muttered as Melee reached down and took him into her arms. The oldest then turned to Garou. He appeared desperate. His eyes silently asked him to do something to help. "Let's take him to Alley and Genus. This isn't right…"

She agreed. With care she placed the ill child over her shoulder, Garou gathered the rest of the kids as they were quick to rush off to the association. Luckily, Genus was in his lab and Amai was nowhere in the building. "Genus!" Melee called desperately.

Peering up from his work, he froze at the sight of the ill serpent boy. "What happened?" he asked.

"We don't know, we think he's sick. He eats with his siblings, but he hasn't grown. Now he sounds like he has a cold or something, but it's more than that!" Melee said with great worry. The little one began to sneeze and cough aloud, his eyes refused to open as he shied away from people. "Please, can you help him?"

Genus reached for the child, but heard a sharp hiss. From his side Garou peered down, the largest was trying to break free from him to defend his brother! "Whoa there, easy, he's here to help. Calm down" he scolded gently.

He kept the other five within him, yet adjusted himself enough so they could see everything going on. With that, Genus reached over and took the ill one from Melee. He did a small check up on him and nodded. "This happens sometimes in the cloning process. The genetic material shifts and at times, one does not get as much as the others. He is merely a defect."

"Defective?" demanded Melee. "He's not a clone, he's a little boy!"

"Melee, remember this was created by a clone of you." Genus explained gently. "Mistakes and miscalculations occur in the cloning process, especially when it comes to breeding. This may happen, but then again it shouldn't considering Amai's genetics. However, the offspring can become like this. The genetic material isn't enough to pass on to create a whole being as a normal couple could. Sadly it's how it is…"

"So there is nothing you can do?" demanded Garou. "We ain't going to let this kid suffer and let his siblings watch!"

Genus sighed. "We could try a genetic transfusion." He muttered.

Without hesitation, Melee presented her arm. "Not that simple. If anything we need a simple method, if we inject something into him, he could be killed since he is so small."

"Well don't leave us in suspension doc!" protested Garou. "What do we do?"

Genus was surprised to Garou's tone, however he began to think of something. "I think we can have him ingest something. We will use both parental materials, some from Amai and some from Melee, in digestion it will be a slower process but also safer for him."

"Great!" Melee announced. "How do we get Amai involved?"

"Oh we already have the material. His shed skin from when he was a serpent will do just fine. It's just getting the child to eat it…"

Garou thought it over. "I'll be back." He said. "Taking the kids with me…"

#

Melee froze.

As Garou left she turned to Genus who appeared just as surprised as her. "Is he feeling okay?" he questioned. "I know for a fact he was not exactly thrilled with this adoption…"

Melee didn't know what to say, but then again, Garou has his own way of dealing with this. "He's been more welcoming to them since they started growing. But I really don't know what to tell you Genus."

He merely nodded as Melee took the little one back into her arms. It cradled itself against her shoulder and braced her tightly. "Despite the fact these are Amai's children, I can already see they are nothing like him. There's a caring look in their eyes, the biggest one, he's their guardian. He wants to protect his siblings even if it meant putting his life on the line."

"They sound more like Garou than Amai," snickered Genus.

She smiled to the notion.

As quickly as Garou left, he came back with a monster in his grasp. A fanged rabbit of all things! It is small enough for the serpent boy to eat. "What's next doc?" He asked.

Genus paused as he thought it over. "Melee, have you molted?" asked Genus.

"Not to my knowledge…"

"No, you shed." Said Garou. "You just never realized it!"

"Why didn't you tell me!" she protested.

He shrugged his shoulders to it all but he paused as his third eye opened. In five minutes, Alley came into the lab. "You called Dad?"

"Your mother's sheddings, where are they?" he asked.

Alley looked at him oddly. "Why do you need those?"

"Please, just get me some of those and a portion of Amai's."

The look of confusion didn't face from her face as she went to her hidden compartment in the wall. She sorted through the discards of scales and skins before finding what she needed. She returned with two samples, both the size of a piece of paper. "Is that enough?" asked Garou. Genus nodded. With that, Garou took the samples. He used his claw and tore a hole into the monster he caught and stuffed the skins into it. He then took the child from Melee and placed him back on the table with the monster rabbit.

It took one sniff of it before it curled away in fear. "Amai's scent…" muttered Garou.

"What do we do?" asked Melee. Yet froze as he took the monster and began rubbing it all over his body! "Garou…"

"Let me finish… I didn't exactly anticipate rubbing a dead monster all over myself today…" when done, he presented it once more to the little serpent. This time, he ate it!

"We will keep a close eye on this, for now, Melee keep him close to you. If anything I do recommend skin to skin contact." Genus said.

She nodded in agreement as Garou sighed. "This better work old man,"

#

For the rest of the day, Melee held the little one close. Alley kept an eye on her mother but at the same time was greatly confused. "Dad… what's happening?" she whispered.

"Your half brother was sick, apparently he's defective from the process with 106. Genus had him ingest genetic material from both your mother and Amai, apparently he can digest and repair what is needed. I was worried, I have never seen something so young that sick before…"

She froze. "YOU were worried?" she asked curiously.

Garou paused and glared at his daughter. "I can't be worried?" he asked.

Alley backed off, Garou kept staring ahead though. Melee had changed her shirt so she could hold the little one properly. She took a large blanket and wrapped it around the little one, it became a massive tube top of sorts. He wasn't too fussed about it since one wrong slip and she could accidently expose herself. If anything, he wanted to get her back home before that happened. "Melee, we good here?" he asked.

She paused and turned to him. "Yes, we better get him home to rest right? I hope this works, he's so small…"

"It will, let's go now. I got to get these guys fed too." He announced and gently patted his stomach. The others have since tucked in for a nap, but it won't be long until they are hungry.

#

Garou and Melee arrived home. Yet they were quick to discover the house wasn't empty. They were lingering at the kitchen table, shaking out the last crumbs of the bag of chips that were hidden in the cupboards. "About damn time someone got back! You're out of snacks by the way baby bro."

He rolled his eyes as Street and Knuckle got up from the kitchen table. Chip bags were all over the place and drinks left about. "You're cyborgs, why the hell are you eating?!" he demanded.

"Got board," Knuckles said with a smirk on his face. "Besides… (BURP)… we can still eat stuff, it become bio fuel or something, also feed the slime too that makes our skin. How? I don't know"

He was about to kick the Brawlers out when the kids began to move about. With a sigh, he let them loose. Amai's kids were unleashed except for the one nestled in Melee's shoulder. The five froze at the sight of Street and Knuckle but smiled and slithered up towards them with excitement. "Ah good, you kids know who your uncles are! Wanna see a cool trick? We can do the same thing your daddy does with ya!" Garou froze as Knuckle's skin parted and opened. The kids were cautious but then slithered in! Next thing he knew the five were having a field day going up down and around under the fake skin of the Brawlers!

"Is that safe? I mean you are wearing an alien slime, what if it eats them!" Melee demanded.

"Nah, it doesn't. These things only eat what we eat if I understand it correctly, their diets then switch to that of their hosts so human food and stuff. Hey! That tickles!" Street laughed.

It wasn't before long until the kids tired out and yet fell asleep under their skins. "Damn, is that what I look like when I hold kids in me?" he asked.

Knuckle stared down at himself. He had three of them and they slept mainly by his stomach area. "Nah, you look more natural with it. Us, it just looks creepy… so where's the other one? Aren't there six?"

Garou turned to Melee. "Here… not feeling well. I hope he's okay…"

Street smirked as he playfully elbowed Knuckle. "Told ya."

"Told him what?" Garou demanded.

"You give a damn about these kids!"

"Shut up."

"No, no, baby bro, listen. It ain't a bad thing. I mean you can come across as a cold-hearted asshole you know. But seeing you like this, show you got a heart to say the least. We always knew that but there are those who doubt you…"

"Tch, whatever." He muttered. "The kids are going to need to eat sooner than later. Let them out and give them back."

Knuckle appeared curious. "Oh? You want them back? I thought you would want a break"

Melee giggled too, the Brawlers smirked a stupid grin. "Look, they are going to need to eat, so give them back to me, I got to get them hunting before it gets too dark, besides, I make them hunt their own food. No hand outs from me" he protested.

The brothers smirked as they opened up and let the kids go. Garou was quick to take them back and into himself. "I'm going now before it gets too late." With that he stormed out, but still, he cursed the Brawler brothers in exposing his concern for these children of Amai's. Before he could take off, Street and Knuckle followed him out. "Wait up Baby Bro, we'll help!"


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Melee couldn't quite believe it herself.

Garou really did care about these little ones! She wondered though if he was truly all right with what has happened. Her brothers smirked to her as Knuckle bared an 'I told you so' look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, you called it." She muttered to him.

"Well we better get going, you take care sis… here's hoping that little guy gets better sooner than later. Huh, maybe we ought to help out baby bro?" Her brothers gave her a kiss on her forehead before heading out.

She let out a sigh before turning her attention to the little one on her shoulder. He was tucked in and slept rather soundly. Doing daily tasks became a little more difficult, but she managed.

Garou returned with the other five a short time later. Once home he got them to their room and stayed with them for some time. Curiosity got the better of her as she went to the children's room and heard them whimpering. "Brother okay?"

She froze. They were talking!

"Brother sick, but will get better." Garou said gently. "How are you feeling? Are you all feeling okay?"

"Sad tummy." The daughter said.

"Did you eat too much?"

She shook her head. "Oh, worried tummy then, it's okay, that happens. But soon you will have a happy tummy since your brother will be all better!" He spoke so gently to them, he was also very careful as he laid them on the foam floor with care and made certain they were comfortable with their position.

Her heart melted as he took his time with the little ones. He tended to all of them, giving them a drink and then getting them ready to bed. Melee was quick to move away from the door as Garou got them all tucked in. She tip toed back to the kitchen and tried to play it off that she saw nothing. However, the moment she peered up, Garou's arms were crossed. "Really? You were spying on me?" he asked.

She gave a playful shrugged, but smiled to him. "You were so good with them Garou, I have never seen them so… calm before." She said as she gently patted the back of the little one over her shoulder.

He sneered at her. "Tch," he said. "Look, a kid is a kid, no matter who they came from. I ain't going to let them feel like they don't matter to anyone! They have grown on me, I admit that freely. They are smart and resourceful, they remind me a lot more of you than Amai. I want… I want to encourage that." He said. Yet his voice trailed off.

Melee froze as she swore, she felt tears building in her eyes. "Oh Garou…" she whispered, standing out of her chair she embraced him tightly. At first he didn't return the embrace but then slowly his arms came up and around her.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he asked of her. "Should I really be doing this? Considering they aren't mine, but… I feel as if they are now…"

She laughed. "They were yours the moment you looked beyond their appearance and started to take care of them!" she laughed. Gently pulling out of his arms she smiled to him. "I couldn't believe you would adopt them at first, but seeing the trust they have in you, how they know to go to you for help…" her voice trailed off as she shook her head oddly. "Garou…"

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered and scratched the back of his head oddly. He paused and looked at the little one in her arms. "How is he doing?"

Melee checked, he has been sound asleep ever since he ate, hasn't moved very much to say the least. However, he has become very cuddly.

The house slowly filled up once more as the family began to return home. When they saw the little serpent on Melee's shoulder, Garou said. "Wait until everyone gets home so we don't have to repeat this a thousand times."

When everyone arrived, he explanation was given. Many nodded, yet Snek appeared confused. "You had him EAT old scales to get him to repair his own DNA?" he asked.

"Genus's suggestion…" Garou muttered. "So we will wait and see what happens."

With that, the house settled. Dinner was made and ate, Melee decided to head off to bed early with the little one in tow. Yet, throughout the night, she heard his siblings whimper. It was the first time they had been really separated.

With a sigh, Melee left her room and went to the children's room. She set herself up on the floor with a pillow and blanket before tucking in. They knew their brother was back. Slowly, the five slinked their way towards her and began to gather around Melee. Their tears stopped as everyone appeared to have fallen back to sleep.

It took a while for her to follow suit, eventually though. She managed to drift off…

#

The sleep was oddly satisfying.

Despite not being in her own bed, Melee felt rested. Her eyes slowly opened to the day, yet when she tried to get up, she was pinned down. "Oh, right…" she thought. Although her eyes were blurry at first, a few blinks cleared them up. Looking about, she didn't see the kids… but a massive black wing over her! Slowly, she turned to her left. There, coddled into her was Garou! 'He followed me in?'

Once more she tried to get up, but then realized he wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her in closer to himself as the wing tightened up. "No…" he muttered.

But then, she heard the giggling. Under the wing were the six and they were wide-awake now! "Garou, the kids are up…" she whispered.

His eyes didn't open the least bit. "Don't care, not moving yet."

She rolled her eyes as the six slithered out under the wing. All were happy and content, even the little one she was taking care of appeared much better today! "Brother back!" the biggest cheered and held his sibling tightly. Then they all gathered and hugged him. It warmed her heart.

"Garou look," she whispered.

One eye peered open as he saw the six hugging one another happily. "Yeah that seems about right." Only to close his eyes and draw Melee closer to him again!

"What's with you this morning?" she asked with a giggle.

"Meh, feel like snuggling, I dunno." He muttered.

However the six had other plans, they began to slink and crawl over them. "Daddy!" one blurred out.

Instantly, Garou eyes shot open. "Did one of them…"

"Yep," she said with a smirk.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Garou froze.

Slowly he sat himself up as he looked down at the serpent boy who called him, daddy. He was smiling from ear to ear. "Daddy!" he said again, then the others began to say it! Is that what he is to them? Is he worthy of such a title? The six then came in close, all attempting to embrace him. Garou finally let Melee go as he scooped them up into his arms.

"So that's it huh? I earned that name?" he asked of them.

They just smiled contently and nestled themselves into him.

Melee was snickering up a storm. "Shut it!" he warned.

"What? It's adorable!" she protested.

"Yeah, yeah, by the way, you got no shirt on…"

Melee was quick to cover herself up with the blanket she brought with her. "Well, I'll get these guys a drink, you wanna get dressed?"

"That would be a good idea…" she muttered. Garou left the room as Melee rushed back into theirs. The kids appeared to be rather content this morning, even the one that appeared sick yesterday. Garou gave that one a good look over, and found he grew last night, there were still little bits of scales coming off his body. "Looking good, bud. Keep it up," he said.

His little chest swelled with pride.

Garou made up the six bottles and got them a drink. Melee returned wearing a shirt and was finally able to cover up, but she couldn't help but smile at them. "They are starting to talk huh?" she asked.

"Slowly, but surely." He replied. "Perhaps we ought to start reading to them, like what Snek did with the twins and his kids. They picked up a lot faster that way."

She agreed to the idea.

As the house woke, Snek was the first to slither out. He paused as he saw the six appear rather content. "Oh, good morning. You guys are up early," he said to the little serpents.

For once, they didn't shy away. Instead, they smiled to him. "See, I told you he's not a bad guy." Garou said.

"Hunt?" asked one of them.

"Oh, you want to go hunting?" Snek questioned. "You want to come with me and my kids this time?"

"HUNT!" the six cheered.

"Strange, they just ate yesterday too…"

"It was the same thing that happened to Drax. They maybe ready to grow…" he said with an intrigued look. "Okay! Let's go wake my brood and see if they are hungry too!"

The strangest thing then happened. The six slithered out of Garou's arms and went to Snek kid's room. The biggest was able to reach and opened the door. "Hunt?" he asked aloud.

Garou was curious as he peered down the hall. Snek's kids woke and stretched themselves out. Bo was the first one up. "Huh? You say something?" he asked.

"HUNT!" the six cheered.

"They want something to eat and were wondering if you were coming along with your siblings." Snek explained.

The other three woke as they appeared rather confused to the whole thing. "They want us to go?" asked Pythan. "But we're rivals now, why do they want to hunt with us?"

"They see you as family, not rivals." Said Garou. "Also, they want to learn from you. You four are like big brothers and sisters to them. Like how my kids were with you. Luna, Eclipsa and Akira, right?"

The four froze. "They see us like that?" whispered Conna. "The triplets were always good to us too, we haven't been very good to these little ones…" she said.

Pythan sighed but he nodded in agreement. "It's true. Okay, let's go hunt then!" he announced. The six slithered back to Garou and embraced his legs.

"Hunt?" they asked of him.

He smiled. "Yes,"

"You guys be careful!" called Melee as everyone made their way towards the door.

#

Their skills were getting better.

Today they didn't have to go to the farm for rats, instead there was a call put in about a small infestation of monsters slightly bigger than the usual prey, but they were various looking things. Snek hung back as he let his kids do what they needed to do, Garou kept close to the six and ensured they were not in harms way if they ate too much. The first to get his fill was the one that was ill, it was cute though as they all worked together and allowed one to get their fill first before moving on. The others would wait as one by one they all got their breakfast. Of course the largest went last as he began to have an increase in appetite! In fact, there were monsters there bigger than him, but he took one down and was able to eat it!

"Whoa kid, I'm rubbing off on you a little too much," Garou snickered.

With full tummies, he carried the kids once more within himself, he found Snek and his brood that appeared satisfied for the moment. "Small fries, never filling." Pythan stated.

"Tell me about it," said Garou. But he smirked as he looked to the four. They have aged well in recent weeks. They appeared as old as Drax was when he first became a serpent. "So, you four doing okay? Hunting going well?"

"We are!" said Angie. "Papa is a great teacher,"

"Still can't kick the name huh?" he whispered to Snek.

"Shut up." He muttered back.

"I'm still hungry, Papa, is there any more?" asked Pythan.

He turned to his phone. "Ooo busy morning by the looks of it. There are multiple threats near by. I think we could get some decent meals for you four."

A look of excitement came over the kids. "Better hurry, they taste better when a hero hasn't knocked them out yet!" called Conna.

With a call of the drone, Snek got his kids loaded in and took off for the city, Garou on the other hand had to get the six back home to rest.

#

They peered into the room. Melee smiled proudly as the six slept soundly. Garou was oddly proud of himself as his chest puffed out. Melee smiled to him. "They really are growing up fast huh?"

"Yeah, I still can't believe they are Amai's" he muttered lowly.

Melee however nudged him. "They aren't anymore. They are ours. Got it, we won't speak of his name to them."

"I think they already know, but don't want to say it either."

Melee however sighed. "I will not tip toe with them around him anymore. He told us to keep them out of his way, fine, but he also better stay out of ours. I am not going to pacify him by letting him tell us where these guys can and can't go in his presence…"

Garou was taken aback by her words. Melee doesn't normally like to make waves, or to cause trouble when there is an issue among the heroes. Yet, ever since these kids came about, she wanted them to feel that they are part of the family. "I get it," he said. "If we bow to the whims of Amai, these kids will suffer, being forced to hide if he is near by, that's not fair to them."

"And since when do we hide?" she asked.

"Besides that time with Metal Knight…"

"That was for a good reason. Creates false perception." She said. Garou smirked. "Garou, I want these kids to feel the same freedom ours do. Can we agree to that?"

"Oh yeah… and if Amai tries anything… I'll be there to stop him!"

"You and me both!"


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

They went to the Association a few days later.

After a good night sleep, growth spurt and snack, the kids were getting bigger, stronger and growing up. In fact, they were catching up to Snek's children! Genus was giving them all a check up and nodded his approval. "They are all healthy!" he announced with a smile. "Remarkable how they are all growing so fast. Perhaps that was also the test 106 was doing with Snek's children to see how quickly they were developing, he may have found a way of speeding up the process with the six…"

The children weren't really paying much attention as they were playing about in the lab. "Momma, can we go in the hall and play?" asked the biggest.

"Sure you can, just watch out for people walking by okay?"

"Ooo, I know a hallway no one really uses!" said the sister. "We can play there!" With that the six slipped out. Snek's kid got their check up and were all in good health before being dismissed.

Melee however wondered what Genus was talking about. "You think the true intention of the clone was to get Amai to reproduce, Snek was just a test to see if it was viable," she said.

Genus sighed and nodded. "Indeed." He took a seat and explained that during the house of evolution days he was one of the top subjects they wanted as a test subject. "Amai was far different than any other I had seen in the heroes. Such a specimen to obtain would have been like a treasure to us. In fact had we known of you and your capabilities Garou, you would have been just as wanted as Amai!"

"Thanks?" he said with great uncertainty. "So, we better keep a close eye on them huh? He wanted these kids for a reason, probably the closest thing he could have next to Amai Mask to test on."

"Indeed, and now he has the Brawler DNA in there too. It was a double win for him to say the least."

Before the conversation could continue, Garou's tail was acting up. It arched oddly before letting out a hiss. Instantly he picked up on it, and then the room froze when one of the little ones cried out.

"DADDY!"

He was gone in an instant. Melee was close behind!

#

They found the hallway. Just as the sister said there wasn't anyone here. "No one comes down this way very often unless they are really, really hurt!" she explained. "Let's play!"

They made a simple game of slithering about on the floor, chasing one another to see who was the fastest. She was rather quick compared to her brothers, they on the other hand began to play wrestle each other. The four brothers would attempt to take down the biggest, yet being well over twice their size, the feat was impossible. He would laugh at his brothers' attempt but continued to encourage them to try. "You almost got me, I teetered!"

Then the smallest would see how fast he was, he would quickly dart down the hall and back again. He was fast, yet he insisted he could be faster when he tried once more. Yet as he reached the end of the hall, he froze.

A look of fear and panic came over him as he was quick to rush back to his siblings. "Run, hide, fast!" he whispered.

Yet before they could try, they froze to the sound of designer shoes hitting the ground, he stood at the end of the hall, glaring down at them in disgust.

Amai Mask.

"What… do we have here?" he said in a cold, calculating tone. He began to approach, as the veins in his hands stretched up to his arms. They continued to spread up his neck and around his eyes as he stared at the six with malice.

They were frozen in fear of him!

Yet, the biggest stood before them, arching himself as big as he could he gave off a defiant hiss in hopes of scaring him off. His fangs bared as his body puffed out to become slightly bigger than he was before.

Amai smirked.

"Pathetic even for you, now, perhaps I can at least get rid of one of you… You were never meant to exist after all…"

They braced themselves close, the youngest wept before he shouted out in desperations. "DADDY!"

It made Amai pause for a moment. "Cute. But I never was such a thing."

SMASH!

Amai was grabbed by the back of his head and bashed into the wall. The kids froze as Garou appeared. "What the HELL do you think you are doing!" Amai broke free for but a moment before he glared down at the six.

"They call you THAT!" he demanded.

Garou roared as he grabbed Amai and forced him down the side of the hall he emerged from. He was quick to pick the kids up off the ground and tuck them into himself. Amai was disgusted. "You care for those abominations!" he demanded. "Garou, you know what they are… why they were created… Why would you…"

BOOF!

Melee came out of nowhere, with a single punch to his stomach, Amai's eyes were wide open, and he suddenly began to turn pale!

She punched him so hard, he threw up!

On his knees and nearly face first in his own mess, Melee glared down and said. "You have no right to pass judgment on them… you have no authority to kill them because of their situation. Don't you DARE come near them again, or I swear to God. You will regret that you have a career as a model, after I eternally ruin those pretty boy looks of yours!"

The halls stopped and stared as a look of rage came over Melee. It is rarely ever seen of her, yet when it appears, people are petrified stiff! Garou only smirked. "That's so hot…." He muttered.

Amai tried to pick himself off the ground, yet teetered. That must have hurt him, that or he was stunned to how powerful Melee became. When he was on his feet, he glared at her and then Garou. "You are making a mistake with them… you do know that…"

"We didn't ask for your opinion!" she snapped back. "I suggest you leave now."

Clenching his stomach, Amai began to walk away, not before he stared at the gathering heroes who witnessed everything. "What are you looking at!" he demanded.

The moment he was out of sight, there came a rousing cheer! Garou was taken aback, but even more so when he felt a slap to his back. "Way to go baby bro!"

"When the hell did you guys get here!?" he demanded.

Street and Knuckle were congratulating them on their stand up to Amai. Knuckle in particular was proud of his sister's accomplishment. "Dude… DUDE you hit him so hard he puked!" and embraced her proudly. "My sister did that!" he bragged.

"Oh God…" muttered Garou.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"It's okay, it's over… he's gone"

It took hours to console them. Garou had to bring in the big guns on this. Luna, Eclipsa and Akira were needed. The kids were terrified, they knew Amai would not have hesitated to harm them, they weren't foolish by any means. They let the kids cry out their fears and stay as long as they needed to in their arms. It was all hands on deck for this!

Garou had to keep rubbing the back of the smallest, the one that called out for him was shaken the most. The biggest of the six was with Street of all people. "You were brave I hear… very brave. You should be proud of yourself. You defended your siblings!" he said.

"Not strong enough…" the little one replied. "Get stronger?"

"Oh big time, you don't realize it yet kid, but you're gonna be like us!" said Knuckle as he stood up off the couch. "This big!" he said.

His eyes widened. "That big?"

"Yeah, we know a Brawler when we see one!"

Curiosity got to the one in Garou's arms. "Brawler?" he asked as he pointed to himself.

"All of you are! You are your mother's children… you are all Brawlers." He said.

He smiled and settled himself. "Get bigger… how?" he asked.

Garou was stunned to the question, they want to grow up and fast! Snek returned home with his kids who appeared full from the day's events. "Heard what happened…" he said the moment he came in. "Damn, I wish I saw that in person…"

"Wait till the kids go to bed." Said Knuckle and gave a wink to Snek. Garou was curious to what he meant by that, but it didn't matter at the moment.

The little one in Garou's arms slipped out, he approached Snek fearlessly and said. "Get bigger… how?" he asked.

"Get bigger?"

"Like you!" he insisted. "Big and strong like you! Help, please?"

Garou looked as the other six were peering over and awaiting his answer. "Amai really scared them, they want to be stronger so they don't have to be scared of him anymore…" Garou explained.

Snek nodded. "We need to get your minds bigger, then we get you fed to grow yourself. But for now, tonight, you rest. Tomorrow, I'll help you get big and strong. Okay?"

Their eyes widened as they then turned to Snek's kids. "Help too?"

Pythan smirked. "Of course!" he said. "You are like our little brothers and sister now aren't you?" Garou didn't know if he was just saying that since the triplets were in the same room or he truly meant it. Either way, the more the merrier at this point!

"We are?"

"Yeah, you are," said Snek. "Have they eaten yet?" he asked of Garou.

"Too scared to, I think tonight it's gonna be a sleep over night… I'll sleep in their room with them to ensure they are calm down."

Snek nodded as he took his kids off to bed.

Alley returned with Suiryu a short time later, she took a deep breath and gave out a sigh. "No one will shut up about mom hitting Amai so hard, he puked." She announced.

"Seriously, it's trending on twitter at the Association. #AmaiBlech," laughed Suiryu.

"I didn't intend on making him puke! He's never been hit so hard he chucked his cookies." Said Melee.

"Still an accomplishment!" said Suiryu.

As the house filled once more, the kids returned but all they could talk about was what Melee did. Hunter was the most stunned out of his siblings. He turned to his mother. "Seriously?" he asked. "I've never hit anyone hard enough to do that!"

"Please, can we just drop it" she begged.

"That was really hot though…" Garou purred. "Part of me wants to see it all again."

Suddenly the Brawler's were smirking. "Okay, movie time!" announced Knuckle.

"Huh?" the room questioned.

Street and Knuckle began to clear the floor in the living room. They pushed back the couch and moved a few things about until there was a wide, empty space. "Can everyone see?" asked Street.

"Yes…" said Snek awkwardly. "What's going…"

Suddenly, Street and Knuckle aimed their right arm towards the open space. "Play back." They announced.

Then a holographic image formed. First it was Garou bashing Amai's head into the wall and then, Melee coming out and striking him once in the stomach. The room heard the air get knocked out of Sweet Mask, the cringe that followed among those who didn't see it in person, then, the detailed vomiting from Amai. "Ugh!" said Luna. "That's gross"

"Coming from a girl that gets covered in monster guts all the time…" muttered Goliath.

"Whoa, I don't think he has EVER been hit hard enough to puke!" said Hunter.

"He hasn't," explained Street. "Apparently I can look at someone and see their history, probably another scanner thing Boros installed, and to this day he has never been hit so hard he vomited, sorry Garou."

"I ain't mad. I married the gal that did it!" he snickered.

He peered down to Amai's kids who saw the whole thing, suddenly their sights set on Melee. Their eyes filled with admiration for her. "Momma… defended us too?" the biggest one asked.

"She did… she always will." Garou whispered. "Well I am going to get these kids off to bed. So I am going to stay in their room with them."

With that, Garou gathered the six up and brought them to their room. He sat them all down and made certain they were content. "Anyone hungry?" he asked.

They shook their heads.

"Thirsty? Need to potty?"

Nope, all were rather content. With a nod he got himself set up on the ground and got comfortable. Just as he did, the kids began to slither up and nestle into his sides. "Thank you daddy." One whispered.

He merely smiled.

Yet as the night wore on, Garou felt a pair of arms wrap around him, over his shoulder he found Melee joining them. 'Of course, she wouldn't let me do this alone' he thought.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The house was a little chaotic to say the least.

The determination of the six to grow stronger became infectious. Everyone in the house was doing what they could to help them learn and grow. What happened with Amai, only made them determined to become strong enough to no longer fear him. Garou assured them. "When you are big and strong, he can't do anything to you!" he insisted. "After all, like it or not. You have his strength too!" They weren't fussed on the notion, however they understood. If they got that strong, he will no longer become a threat.

Everyone has been reading to them to get their vocabulary up. Picture and more complex books were great, however it didn't catch their interest in reading. That was until an idea came to Goliath. "You like those cartoons you watch with dad right? Did you know they came from books like this one?" He showed them their first manga. The pictures and words were easy enough to read and the story caught their attention. The kids were fascinated no less. Little by little, each and every day they grew in size and intellect.

The six were quick to grow up big and strong. They just caught up to Snek's kids in size! Today, they played their favourite game, chasing one another around the house. One however took to building blocks that Alley happened to have on hand from the lab. He loved making and stacking them to create something, although he didn't appear to know what it was. The others however were more than content to chase one another around the floor. Slithering about trying to catch their siblings who were avoiding being caught. "I GOT YOU!"

"NO! YOU DIDN'T!"

Back and forth they would bicker and tease each other. Garou had to keep a close eye on them. There was one who was getting rebellious, he would glare at him from afar and talk back when he takes what wasn't his. He even got aggressive when it came to feeding. He would demand he hunts first and if he was still hungry, he began to take it from his own siblings despite the fact the largest one always shares!

This one would be a challenge.

He was uptight like his father, it was his way or the highway in a sense! "I don't want to play, you are too slow for me!" he would state when his sibling asked him to join them.

"They merely asked, be more polite when refusing," Garou scolded.

"MAKE ME!" he snapped back. "I don't have to listen to you!"

"My house, my rules!" Garou warned. "You are getting attitude and I don't like it, not to mention you have been taking food from your siblings which I will not stand for again."

"So what! You're not my real dad!" the little one yelled.

His outburst made his siblings freeze. If they were playing, it came to a very drastic stop, none of them moved. They were too scared to. Garou however smirked. "I know that. I never asked you to call me dad… you did that yourself,"

Suddenly, the little one trembled, he darted out of the room and slithered to the bedroom. Garou however began to understand where this rebellious streak came from. Melee was stunned as she saw the whole thing. "I got this." Garou announced and went to the room. He knocked gently but heard a sobbing. Peering in, he found the little one coiled. Instantly, he took notice of Garou and tried to hide his tears, but couldn't.

"I get it," Garou said to the kid. "I know you're upset, I know I am not the father you wanted…"

"No… it's just that… why didn't my dad want me? Why didn't he want us?" he whimpered.

There was no choice, Garou went into the room and took a seat, yet as he did, the others peered in. "Come on in, all of you." He said.

The other five slinked in and were quick to climb on to his lap. "Do… you know why daddy didn't want us?" the daughter asked.

He nodded. "You know the answer too, but want to be sure it's right. I am not going to tell you directly though, but know this. Even if he didn't want you… your mother did."

"But why didn't our dad? Did we do something wrong?" asked the biggest one.

Garou sighed. "Your father has a very strange mind set. Granted, how you came about wasn't in the greatest of intentions either…" he paused as all six of them stared up at him. "It was wrong of him to say what he did about you, and I know you know what he said so I ain't going to repeat it! But you have also seen his mindset too, when you saw him at the Association."

They all nodded their heads and shuttered at the memory of it all. "Dad…" the daughter muttered. "Why did you keep us?"

He sighed again. "Your mother and I are bounded together, for better or for worst. I wasn't going to let her raise you alone, how could I?" he asked. The six nestled in closer to him. "You know what. I think you need some names… how about it? We get you names today?"

Their eyes widened. "I want to be called Tempest!" said the biggest of the six.

"Actually that sounds pretty awesome, sure! You get to be called Tempest!"

"I want to be Rimuru!" said the second smallest.

"Okay…"

"I want to named Yuuma," said the one who gave him attitude earlier.

"You kids have been watching too many of my shows…" Garou muttered.

"Yuki," said the second eldest of the brothers.

Garou nodded as the last of the brothers fell silent. "I don't know what I want to be called…" he whispered. "I want to be big and strong like you, but I want a name to reflect that." This was the one that was sick a while ago. He needs a good name.

Garou pondered over the idea. "A name isn't to be taken lightly now isn't it?" he said. "Hmmm, let's see…" He picked him up off the ground and held him before his face. Garou had a little fun as he turned him upside down and just playfully inspecting him. He tickled him, and toyed about. He got a giggle out of the little serpent boy and that of his siblings. What this little guy didn't know was he was still recovering, and he was catching up to Tempest, he is defiantly going to be a Brawler to say the least. "Huh, normally a name would jump out by now… Hmmm." Garou gave him one more look. "How about Titan?" he asked.

His eyes widened. "… Titan?" he whispered.

"Do you like it?"

He nodded. "Titan!" called his brothers.

"Now, that just leaves your sister."

She was oddly silent through the naming fun her brothers had. "I don't know what I want to be called either…" she whispered.

"We can fix that!" Garou did the same with her, held her a little before his face and then playfully tumbled her about in his hands. Garou already knew off the bat had Amai kept them, she would have been called Amelia to say the least. It's the closest thing to his name. However he would avoid it, knowing the stress it would cause her to be names so closely to a man who wanted to kill her. "Hmm. Let's see… How about… Athena?"

"Athena?" she asked.

"It's PERFECT!" her brothers called. "Athena!"

She smiled and nodded to it. "Okay good. Now tell your mother you picked these, if I named you without her consent I am going to get it!" Garou announced.

They quickly slithered out of the room all the while calling for their mother, Melee to listen to their names. By the time he got to the living room, the little ones bombarded her. They coiled up her legs and gathered at her mid drift while shouting their names with great pride and puffed up their chest. "Wow. You all have a name! That's wonderful. Did your father help?" she asked.

"No, we picked them!" Tempest said proudly.

"All by ourselves" said Yuki.

"I got to get you kids off the TV…" she sighed.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Not even the hottest shower setting was good enough.

For the past few weeks, Amai kept himself hidden from public view. Mainly stating personal reasons for the matter. However, what happened to him, continues to haunt his thoughts. "The nerve of that mad scientist! How DARE he use me like this!" he growled. He had just finished recovering from the blow Melee gave him. Still, a part of him wondered how she summoned such strength...

Amai had left the shower and has since sat on his balcony, looking out over City R. He wants those children destroyed and out of his life forever. However, there was a part of him that wants the children to raise and teach them of his ways.

After just seeing them at the association… he began to wonder about them, perhaps considering giving them a chance. "They didn't act like monsters… they acted like little children…" he muttered.

"I could have told you that"

Amai shot to his feet and stood at the ready to fight, sitting on the rooftop's edge was Hunter. "Do you not announce yourself when you are here?!" Amai demanded. "I was having a conversation with myself on the matter, I don't want you eves dropping on me!"

Hunter smirked for a moment, but the smile quickly vanished. "I won't stay long, don't worry. I just came to tell you this. Don't ever do that again." he said in a stern tone. "We get it, you don't like the kids that were forced upon you. Consider yourself lucky that we haven't made this public to the heroes let alone the world got it!" Hunter demanded.

"You of all people know why they were created. Do you think that is fair for them to live their lives knowing they were made to be nothing more than an experiment?" Amai demanded. "Hunter… I feel used… violated and now I feel betrayed for what your family has done. You never considered how I felt on the matter at hand, merely worried for the lives of the children."

"That's because they were children… you are no child."

Amai sneered at the notion as Hunter slid down and stood before him. "I have said before, after the incident with Snek and you saw my family for what it's worth, I consider you a friend. But now, I don't even know anymore. You know these kids were to be used by the house of evolution for something, yet they are also your children… you should be the one to teach them how to protect themselves. That way, they wouldn't have to worry as much about this mad man who is after them."

"It won't solve the matter"

"No shit, you are preaching to the chore here!" Hunter snapped back. "You have that narrow vision again, focusing on your own image rather than those around you…" He paused for a moment and sighed. "They are remarkable, you should know that. The biggest of all of them acts like a guardian, one likes to create and tinker with things from Alley's lab, one is a cuddler, you hold him and he nestles himself right into you. Your only daughter is a strong one, she can keep up with her brothers. Amai… they are all full of curiosity, talent and want to see how the world works. It's a shame they can't learn that from a true parent."

"What do you want from me?" Amai demanded. "I told you before, I want nothing to do with them, I won't even acknowledge them as mine."

"Yet, you are upset that they call my father, their 'daddy'" Hunter stated.

He twinged a little.

"There it is, that little bit of care you have for them, I can feel it in you Amai Mask. After all, you felt that kinship with Drax. You had a chance to have it for your own and shit the bed on it. I got to say, sometimes I don't get you at all…"

"Are you done?" he demanded.

Hunter paused as he appeared to sarcastically think it over. "Meh, for now perhaps." He stated. "I will say this Amai… If you really don't care about these kids, I don't think you should be calling yourself a hero."

"Say that again!" Amai demanded as his veins appeared.

Hunter stood firm in his accusation. "I know they were not what you expected them to be, they weren't planned at all… It sucks it happened, and yet, you couldn't be a father to your own children? A hero never abandons those in need do they? Well, these six were, abandoned by a man who proudly calls himself a hero and isn't afraid to call out others on their actions who do not hold the standard of being one. How does that make you feel Amai? To finally be called out on your lack of action as a hero?"

"Go… now…" Amai warned in a seething tone.

"Okay. Just one last warning… you see these kids in your coming and goings at the association, stay away from them. Or else…"

Amai smirked. "Your family wouldn't be foolish enough to do anything against me." He said and smiled.

"I wouldn't take that chance, right now, the whole Association knows you were punch so hard you threw up. That was mom going easy on you, after all, she doesn't have complete control yet over her new power. Now if Luna were to catch wind of your misdoings… she tends to hit things hard enough that they explode… you messed with her once, and she was merely toying with you… this is your only warning Amai."

Hunter stepped up on to the side of the balcony, he turned and looked him in the eyes before sarcastically saluting Sweet Mask. From there, he fell backwards. Amai peered over the side but found he was already gone.

"The last thing I need is him lecturing me…" Amai muttered.

He decided to go to bed early that night, tomorrow is a new day and he will go back to work.

Yet, why couldn't he stop thinking about those six?


End file.
